Steve Nash

Captain of Phoenix Suns

Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Steve Nash enjoyed an outstanding high school basketball career at Victoria's St. Michael's Academy, but garnered little attention from U.S. college recruiters.

The South Africa-born Nash starred at Santa Clara University in California and was taken 15th overall by the Phoenix Suns in the 1996 NBA draft. The best Canadian basketball player ever is also a superstar in charity and humanitarian work, notably with the Steve Nash Foundation.

For this and other reasons, Time magazine in 2006 named Nash one of the 100 most influential people in the world.