Hall of Famer Steve Nash joined the broadcast crew during Monday night's game between his former team, the Dallas Mavericks, and the Philadelphia 76ers.

While on the air, the two-time MVP talked about the time he spent playing alongside Mavs legend Dirk Nowitzki. Nash had a lot to say about his close friend, highlighting how they both helped each other go through their formative and upstart years in Dallas.

Moreover, Nash shared about how, in some way, he helped Dirk transition as an adjusting teenager from Germany into the bright lights of the NBA.

Take a listen:

Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki both joined the Mavs during the shortened lockout season in 1999. Up until that point, Dallas had been a rebuilding team.

But both Nash and Nowitzki, along with veteran forward Michael Finley, helped turn the franchise around. During those years, Dallas became one of the most exciting teams in the league with its high-octane offense.

The two close pals eventually led the Mavs to four straight postseason appearances from 2001 to 2004. However, they did not get to the mountaintop during that stretch, as they went as far as the Western Conference Finals in 2003.

Unfortunately, 2004 would be the last time we'd see the Nash and Nowitzki pairing. Mavs owner Mark Cuban refused to give the then-30-year-old Nash a long-term deal and let him walk in free agency during the summer.

Of course, as history has written out, Nash moved on to Phoenix, where he had the best playing days of his career, winning two MVPs and leading the Suns to multiple conference finals appearances.

Dirk, on the other hand, won an MVP of his own, went to the Finals twice, and finally won the NBA championship in 2011.

Looking back, that Nash-Nowitzki pairing will perhaps go down in the books as one of the biggest “what ifs” of that decade.

With the way their respective careers progressed when they went their separate ways, one has to wonder whether they could have won a championship together.