Lakers News: Magic Johnson Congratulates Steve Nash And Andrew Bernstein On 2018 Basketball Hall Of Fame, Compares Grant Hill To Kobe Bryant & LeBron James

Dan Duangdao
4 Min Read
Andrew Martinez-LakersNation.com

Steve Nash and Andrew Bernstein will both be among those officially inducted as part of the 2018 National Basketball Hall of Fame class.

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As Bernstein received the Curt Gowdy Award for print media excellence on Sept. 6, Nash will be honored for his career with the Phoenix Suns (10 seasons), Dallas Mavericks (six seasons), and Los Angeles Lakers (two seasons).

Although Nash only appeared in 65 games with the Lakers due to injuries, president of basketball operations Magic Johnson congratulated him on his latest achievement on Twitter:

Johnson also congratulated Bernstein, who has been covering him and the team since the 1982-83 NBA season:

Johnson also praised 2018 inductee Grant Hill by comparing his pre-injury self to the level Kobe Bryant and LeBron James reached:

For Nash, he will be most remembered for his second stint with the Suns. Highlighted by the two MVP Awards in 2005 and 2006, he pioneered the way the game of basketball is played today.

Coming off his eighth All-Star appearance, the Suns signed and traded Nash to the Lakers prior to the 2012-13 NBA season. While he was 38 years old at the time, there was optimism he could maintain his level of play with Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard and Metta World Peace.

Unfortunately, Nash suffered a leg injury in his second game as a Laker against the Portland Trail Blazers and was never able to fully recover from various injuries. He ultimately retired during the 2013-14 NBA season after averaging 6.8 points and 5.7 assists in 15 games.

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Dan Duangdao was the managing editor at Lakers Nation (2013-16, 2018-20). He is currently the founder at LA Sports Media, Lake Show, Raiders Nation, Rams Nation, Kings Nation, Galaxy Nation, and MMA Rumors. Born and raised in Southern California and a lifelong Los Angeles sports and mixed martial arts fan, his first NBA game was Kobe Bryant and the Lakers against the Golden State Warriors with Michael Jordan in attendance during the 1998-99 NBA season. He was previously a contributor at HOOPSWORLD (now Basketball Insiders) and an NBA editor at ClutchPoints. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: @DanDuangdao.