Former MVP Steve Nash announces retirement after 19 seasons

Los Angeles Lakers guard Steve Nash announced his retirement after a 19-year NBA career that included two MVP awards. The 41-year-old Canadian made the announcement Saturday in a letter on The Players’ Tribune, a website where he is a senior producer. Nash played in just 65 games over the last three seasons with the Lakers because of injuries. A persistent back problem prevented him from playing at all this season. His announcement was a long-expected formality. Nash won MVP awards in 2005 and 2006 during a dominant stretch as the catalyst for Phoenix’s up-tempo offense. The eight-time All-Star is third in NBA history with 10,335 assists, trailing only John Stockton and Jason Kidd. Nash also is the best free-throw shooter in NBA history at 90.4 percent. – AP