Steve Nash Injury: Will He Retire? Out of Lakers Roster for NBA Season 2014-15

Steve Nash may be playing his last season in the NBA.

In an interview with Sport TV earlier in October 2014, the veteran point guard said, "I think this is my last season," Nash said. "But I still love to play, practice and work on my game. I'm going to spend hopefully many many years living this life without basketball. It'll be nice to play one more year."

However, Nash might not even get to play his "last season" after the Lakers confirmed via press release that he will be out of the entire 2014-2015 season due to recurring nerve damage in his back.

In a report by CBS Sports, Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak announced, "As disappointed as we are for ourselves and our fans, we're even more disappointed for Steve. We know how hard he's worked the last two years to try to get his body right for the rigors of the NBA, and how badly he wants to play, but unfortunately he simply hasn't been able to get there up to this point in time. Steve has been a consummate professional, and we greatly appreciate his efforts."

Nash said, "Being on the court this season has been my top priority and it is disappointing to not be able to do that right now. I work very hard to stay healthy and unfortunately my recent setback makes performing at full capacity difficult. I will continue to support my team during this period of rest, and will focus on my long-term health."

The 40-year-old has not announced his retirement. He last said in March that he would either return playing for the Lakers or retire if the team used their stretch provision to take him out. Sam Amick of USA Today tweeted that Nash has not yet decided on whether or not he will be retiring.

Experts speculated that the new season was supposedly a way for Nash to gauge his health status. In the 2013-2014 season, he averaged 6.8 points and 5.7 assists while just playing 15 games. Since he moved from the Phoenix Suns to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2012, his condition has deteriorating. He got injured recently by just picking up bags. In the past year, he had to take epidurals to get over the pain.

The Lakers will likely avail of the disabled player exception to make room for a new point guard. With Nash out, the Lakers will be relying heavily on Jeremy Lin.