Even Michael Jordan never won three straight MVPs.

But Steve Nash is well on his way to earning his third-straight MVP award this season. Nash would join Hall of Famers Bill Russell and Larry Bird as the only players in NBA history to rack up three consecutive MVPs.

Nash, Russell, Bird – something doesn’t fit. Not only are Bird and Russell basketball legends, they both led their teams to multiple NBA Championships. Nash hasn’t even made the NBA finals in his career, so how did this man, born in South Africa and raised in Canada, go from journeyman point guard to the verge of making NBA history?

It all started with his decision to join the Phoenix Suns in free agency even though his heart was still in Dallas. Nash had evolved from unknown backup to All-Star in his five years in Dallas, and had developed great chemistry with fellow All-Star Dirk Nowitzki.

But outspoken Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was reluctant to sign Nash, who was 30 years old at the time, to a long term contract. Instead, Cuban wanted to build his team solely around Nowitzki.

Two MVPs later, I bet Cuban, who always has something to say, doesn’t want to talk about Nash. They say hindsight is 20/20, but Cuban has to wonder where the Mavericks would be with Nash still on the team.

Nash, who felt slighted by Cuban, was motivated to justify his worth to the Suns and the rest of the league. The Suns, whose record was a dismal 23-59 the year before Nash’s arrival, transformed into a quick, high-flying offensive juggernaut under the leadership of Nash and the influence of head coach Mike D’Antoni.

The Suns finished first in the West, and that earned Nash his first MVP, but the Suns lost to the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. Last year, everyone thought the Suns would regress due to Amare Stoudemire’s injury, but Nash amazingly still led the Suns to another first-place conference finish.

Nash’s incredible ability to make seemingly anyone on the court around him better earned him his second straight MVP. But once again, Nash would come up short, losing to the Mavericks in the conference finals.

People questioned the integrity of an MVP who can’t deliver in the playoffs – especially in regard to taking a team to the finals. Nash and Kevin Garnett are the only MVPs in league history who have never made it to the NBA finals.

The Suns also play a style of offensive basketball that has never been seen in the NBA before, and which only the Showtime Lakers come close to matching. There has never been an NBA team who relies less on defense to win games, and it remains to be seen if the Suns can win a championship playing this style.

But Nash is doing all he can this year to disprove his critics, as he is having the best year of his career. He has upped his scoring average to 20 points per game, and is also leading the NBA with almost 12 assists per game. He also shoots an insane 54 percent from the field, including 50 percent from the 3-point line —– the league average is below 40 percent.

The Suns have reeled off 17 straight victories, after already having a 15-game winning streak this season. The Suns are unstoppable right now with Nash playing with a chip on his shoulder and Stoudemire’s successful return from his injury. It is ironic that the Suns, and the Mavericks, are vying for the top spot in the West, and if they meet in the playoffs again, it will be an electrifying series.

Nash is making his best case for MVP this year, as the Suns are on a blistering pace. But if they don’t make it to the finals, a third-straight MVP title would be meaningless. One only becomes a legend, like Bird and Russell, when you win a championship. And until Nash does that, he will never fit in.

Majesh Abraham is a junior in LAS. He can be reached at [email protected].