"I pass the torch to STAT," two-time MVP winner Steve Nash said, referring to teammate Amaré Stoudemire. "He's deserving."
Last year's MVP, Dirk Nowitzki, is picking Kobe Bryant. The other Suns resident MVP, Shaquille O'Neal, has also said Bryant deserves his first MVP. But Nash's criteria will be for which player is leading the top team. For now, he said Chris Paul would deserve it for where New Orleans is but he said Stoudemire should get it if Phoenix can rise in the standings during the final two weeks.
"It depends really who finishes tops," Nash said. "If we finish tops, then I think Amaré deserves it. But if it stopped the way it is, I think Chris Paul has been outstanding and his team has been the top of the charts.
"It's the team, your impact on your team and what you do overall. Let's face it: (Paul) has been unbelievable. His scoring. His assisting. He's a leader in steals. He shoots a good percentage. He puts his team on his back in the fourth quarter. That's what it's about. He doesn't have the players around him that Kobe has."
If the Suns move up, he said Stoudemire would "deserve it as much as anyone." Stoudemire has put up gaudy numbers but did not even move into the fringe of MVP consideration until the Suns' recent success.