This has happened, as the Nets are 43-22, half a point behind the Philadelphia 76ers for first in the division, but how they got here, and how this whole season has unfolded once again proves truth is always stranger than fiction.

Nash’s tenure, which started when he was announced last September, got off to a rocky start. Aside from the typical punditry calling out his lack of coaching experience, there was ESPN blowhard Stephen A. Smith saying his hire was an example of “white privilege”.

Irving, who was speaking on Durant’s newly launched podcast, seemed to allude that the Nets were going to take an almost leaderless approach.

“And I think it’s also going to change the way we see coaches,” he said on the podcast with Durant. “I don’t really see us having a head coach. You know what I mean? KD could be a head coach. I could be a head coach.”

Nash, ever the level-headed leader, much like he was on the court through 18 seasons, offered a beautifully eloquent response that ended with him stating he felt “fortunate” to coach talent like Irving and Durant. He doused the flames and held back on making a public point of asserting himself as the man in charge. It was clear Nash was going to take a roll with it approach to leading a team of superstars, his first move one of diversion rather than aggression.

Then in early January, Irving started missing games for what would later be called “family matters”, coming back to the team after he had also been found to have violated Covid-19 guidelines by attending a private indoor party. Irving didn’t elaborate on why he was away from the team for a number of games, and Nash didn’t either, but that didn’t stop the press from pounding the story for weeks and calling out Irving. On top of that, three games into the season Nash had to deal with his first of many injury woes as point guard Spencer Dinwiddle went down.

The Irving-Durant chemistry experiment got put on hold, and then the Nets decided to drop a massive bomb on the basketball world and trade for Houston Rockets superstar James Harden on January 14. Not only did the Nets pick up Harden, an all-encompassing ball handler, they also went all-in as they shipped off a number of roster players including Taurean Prince and a staggering amount of draft picks over four years.

The Nets went for broke with their big three, and Nash was being counted on to be the basketball whisperer in somehow getting three stars, all used to having lots of time with the rock, to share. Pundits were quick to label it a mad scientist’s experiment, that it would never work, and the infighting would soon engulf the team.

While Nash has had some time with all three on the court, mostly he’s had to make do with just one, or maybe two at a time, and a rotating cast of roster players filling in gaps and holes as the injury bug ravaged the team. It should have been a recipe for disaster and somehow Nash made filet mignon.

Nash just got Irving back, is waiting on Durant’s return, and Harden looks like he may be ready for the play-offs come May 22. There has been nothing ideal about what the Nets have had to endure this season, but one constant – Nash himself – seems to be the captain in stormy waters.

Whatever he’s doing behind the scenes is clearly working. He’s found a way to connect with his players, and navigate through a rocky season that could have been a disastrous, headline grabbing one in the making. In interview’s he’s used the word “facilitator”, and it seems to be his secret sauce. From what players have said in interviews about him and his coaching style eludes to the fact that he is most definitely a “player’s coach” who will listen, is open to ideas and up for a collaborative approach.

He is the NBA’s new player whisperer, and well on his way to Coach of the Year honours in an unforgettable season for the upstart Brooklyn Nets.