Steve Nash Says He “Wanted to Be Black” When He Started Hooping [Video]

Former NBA star Steve Nash just admitted to LeBron James that he “wanted to be black” on the latest Mind the Game episode.

Nash he opened up about falling in love with the game in middle school. Nash said, “Started playing basketball, fell in love with it. Like, the first Air Jordan 1 Spike Lee commercial… It was right when I was in the eighth grade. I started playing when I was in seventh grade, going into eighth grade. I was like, This world’s amazing. And let’s also just be real; I wanted to be Black.”

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He broke it down even more, saying it came from who was dominating the culture. “All the best players in the league were Black. All the best rappers are Black. So I’m trying to emulate anyone who had something about him.”

LeBron co-signed the feeling and even brought up Lakers teammate Austin Reaves. “It’s so funny you say that because we say the same shit about AR,” Bron said. “We’re like, ‘There’s no way you learned that in fucking Arkansas.’”

LeBron went on, joking about teammate Markieff Morris too: “We call him ‘Smooth’ on the team—it’s like, ‘No, I’m not believing you’re from Arkansas. You got to be from New Jersey or whatever. All that—you got that bop, bop, bop. You didn’t learn that shit in Arkansas.’”

It was a raw, honest convo about culture, influence, and respect. From music to hoops, Black excellence continues to lead, shape, and inspire generations, on and off the court.