Steve Nash Reveals Key Reason Why He Never Joined Toronto Raptors

This topic was a large point of focus for the recent episode of Open Gym. Some interesting details about the process emerged including why Nash did not go through with the decision to join.

"We had a meeting set with the Raptors, July 1st in New York City, in Mr. [Larry] Tannenbaum's apartment," Nash told the interviewer. "It was a meeting that was exciting for me."

The documentary series detailed how hard the Raptors went in the recruiting process. They even enlisted the help of Canadian hockey legend Wayne Gretzky to try and convince Nash to join.

"This opportunity meant a lot to me, but there was another opportunity that had to come first," Nash continued. "The reality is, I was going through a divorce at the time, and my kids were in Phoenix. While you're going through that transition, there's a lot of unknowns. You're trying to figure out how I can see my kids as often as possible. That was really the reason I didn't end up in Toronto, was that I wanted to be close to my kids."

The all-time great point guard proceeded to join Kobe Bryant on the Los Angeles Lakers instead. In all fairness, there are a lot less kilometers to travel between Los Angeles and Phoenix. 

"To play in Canada, to play for the Raptors, to play in front of those fans in that arena every night would have been amazing," Nash added. "If the timing was better, it would have been fantastic to experience it."