The 2016 BC Sports Hall of Fame will be head-lined by Victoria’s Steve Nash who not only set his sights on winning, but went on to win back-to-back NBA MVP awards.
Towering above some and standing at 6 ft. 3″ as a point guard he excelled to become an NBA all-star 8 times in his 18-year NBA career.
He lead the league in assists (5 times) and retired with the third-most assists (ever) in the history of the NBA and
is only the third point guard to be named an NBA MVP, with the others being Magic Johnson and Bob Cousy.
When he announced his official retirement (March 2015) he wrote a letter on The Players’ Tribune website.
The letter stated “The obsession became my friend. I talked to her, cherished her, fought with her and got knocked on my ass by her.”
He continued “In some ways, having this friend — this ever-present pursuit — has made me who I am, taught me and tested me, and given me a mission that feels irreplaceable.”
Along with Steve Nash in the athlete category are Dave Barr (Golf) who is a two-time winner on the PGA tour, Dave Cutler (Football) who spent 16 seasons as a kicker in the CFL and retired in 1984 as the (then) leading scorer in pro football history, as well as soccer players Carl Valentine and Geri Donnelly.
In the builder/coach category are BC Lions GM/Head Coach Wally Buono, former Canadian women’s basketball team Head Coach Allison McNeill and Diane Clement the co-founder of The Vancouver Sun Run, and the Richmond Kayaks Track and Field Club and a former president of Athletics Canada.
Arthur Griffiths will be honoured as the W.A.C. Bennett award winner. Griffiths also chaired the Vancouver/Whistler 2010 Bid Society.
The 1994-95 Memorial Cup-winning Kamloops Blazers will go into the hall in the team category.
The Blazers went 52-14-6 in regular season play for a team that included NHL Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla as well as Shane Doan, Darcy Tucker, Tyson Nash, Brad Lukowich and Jason Strudwick.
Wendy Long enters in the media category and worked for an impressive two decades at The Vancouver Sun covered Amateur and Olympic sports as one of a handful of female sports writers during the 1980s and ’90s.
The Pioneer category see’s Nanaimo’s Harry Manson who was an aboriginal soccer player from 1897 to 1905 and was also known as Xul-si-malt, which means “one who leaves his mark.”
Congratulations from “Sportswave” to a great group of individuals on the induction into the 2015 BC Sports Hall of Fame!!
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