LOS ANGELES, USA (AFP) — NBA star Steve Nash has fired back at his critics, who are seeking to make him a lightning rod for the troubles that beset the winless Los Angeles Lakers this season.

Disgruntled Lakers fans have levelled their guns at the injured guard after the two-time NBA MVP recently posted a video on social media of himself swinging a golf club.

Nash responded on his Facebook page saying that golfing is very different than the physical pounding you take playing an NBA basketball game.

“This may be hard for people to understand, unless you’ve played NBA basketball, but there is an incredible difference between this game and swinging a golf club,” Nash said.

Canada’s Nash said he suffers from a long list of health ailments, including sciatica, and has three bulging discs in his back.

On Friday, he reiterated that the Lakers would be the last team he plays for.

“The past two years I’ve worked like a dog to not only overcome these setbacks but to find the form that could lift up and inspire the fans in LA as my last chapter,” said Nash, who was born in Johannesburg, South Africa but grew up in Victoria, British Columbia.

Injuries to superstar Kobe Bryant, a revolving door on the head coaches’ office, and poor management and ownership decisions have left the winless Lakers with an 0-5 record this season.

They are off to their worst start since the 1957-58 season when they began 0-7.

The Lakers, who have won 16 NBA titles, face Charlotte (3-3) today, and if they lose that game they could equal their worst start in franchise history with a loss to red-hot Memphis (6-0) on Tuesday night.