We're introduced to Nathan as the badass baller with all the high school popularity the son of a former glory days father could want. His attitude is that of the cocky alpha male that boys want to be like. His status and good looks make him the boy girls want to be with.
The flaw? His step brother stands in his way not only on the court, but also in the eyes of his over-bearing father. The plan? Get to his brother thru his best friend. The glitch? Haley doesn't buy into his big man on campus status and lets him be the person he truly is underneath it all. This includes standing up to his father... and his mother. Realizing his brother is not the source of his problems, and may be the only family member who does not expect or want anything from him.
Marraige. A HUGE step for someone so let down by family many would say, but our favorite character has learned from the mistakes of his family and is not going to let his love go. He'll make a family of his own and surround himself with those who truly care about him and vice versa. Enter evil music man (here after referred to as he who shall not be named). Our hero is quickly forced with the prospect of losing his wife to her "new found" dream. Nathan quickly turns down a chance at a basketball program that could further his dream so that he can stay with his wife. Money worries and separation worries lead him to choose his heart. Yes, the invitation to High Flyers was set up by his dad... but Nathan was unaware of this. His wife, on the other hand, chose her dream and when faced with an ultimatum, she chose the road and the newlyweds were separated. Nathan again felt let down and his emotions overwhelmed him. Once again he feels alone and must find his way back. This time his uncle offers him words of encouragement, or discouragement (each viewer formed their own opinion of the crash). A new Nathan awoke and found a new courage inside himself, but did he build a wall around it to protect it? One that was too high for others to get in? In the meantime, his wife found her choice to pursue her dream meant nothing without her husband; she returned to him, but was it too late?
Face to face with his wife, our hero is torn from the reunion by the news that his father is in a fire. More sadness faces Nathan and he continues to mature and grow out of necessity more than the desire to do so. Nathan decides to focus on his basketball. He attends High Flyers and returns to Tree Hill determined to take his team to the championships and hopefully attract college scouts. His wife, also determined, joins the cheerleading squad to be closer to her husband and prove to him that she is not going anywhere. He uses this to test her and invokes the help of his nemesis, the evil musician, er, he who shall not be named. More turmoil hits Nathan when his father becomes mayor and his mother leaves town without him after promising to get them away from Dan Scott. He once again turns to Haley for consoling and the door opens for his relationship with her to begin to heal. This again proves how Nathan's fears of turning into his father are unfounded. He lets Haley back into his life and learns of his mother's hand in the attempted murder of his father. Nathan is then faced with the news that there is not only a school shooting but that his wife is locked in the school. Thinking only to protect her, he enters the school and is face to face with the "other side" of popularity. This experience becomes a part of Nathan as everything around him has, and again, instead of taking a Dan Scott route in life- Nathan becomes more of a man than his father ever could be. He is able to confront his feelings and opens up to his wife on new levels. Re-proposing to Haley becomes an important symbol to him and he sets out to start over and put the past behind them....
We start with Nathan having just dived into the cold river without hesitation to save his uncle from a car crash. A man feeling like he is without a loving family such a short time ago, now risks his own life to keep his family safe. The reluctant hero takes another emotional maturity leap this season. True to character, Nathan grows each season and is surely becoming an honorable man. Shrugging off advances from Rachel, Nathan demonstrates that his vows are not questionable and that he is faithful without a doubt. His hard work has paid off and Nathan receives word that Duke is interested in recruiting him. This news becomes overshadowed by the bigger news that he soon will be a father himself. Nervous and scared he reacts with harsh word, but as the information settles in and after a conversation with his own (for lack of a better word) father, he announces during his press conference that the decisions he faces will be done as a basketball player, a husband and a soon to be father. All seems well in his world, but a new problem has been brewing and now Nathan and Haley face the money issues. Attempting to reach out to his dad for help and getting denied, Nathan turns to the local loan shark who words their arrangement in such a way that Nathan accepts the loan. Thinking he has a while to repay the loan he is hit by the news that interest will be compounding at an unrealistic rate and he is now being asked to shave points from a game to wipe the slate clean. (Oh, dear Nathan, so much growing and yet still so much naivete). Our hero now proves he is not perfect and makes a choice that will change lives forever. By doing this imperfect act Nathan very well may have became even more endearing to those of us watching. This, of course, is not the last of the nasty Daunte and he now threatens Nathan to throw the championship game. So much stress at such a young age. Nathan turns again to Dan Scott and is not to find the help he needs. A man without morals, cowers and advises his son to comply and throw the game. In one of the most important episodes to date, Nathan begins the journey that could very well put him back on the path that was taken by his father. Letting down team mates. Letting down a beloved mentor and coach. Letting down family and friends. The Ravens are down by quite a lot at 1/2 time and Coach Durham pulls out a recording from his last trip to the championship game. One starring the Scott brothers' own father. Hearing this brings renewed purpose to Nathan's game. Not to mention that he also finds out the sex of his own baby is a boy. Nathan returns to the court and with the full team effort, they go on to win the champtionship game and all morals and wisdom stay in tact. A celebration is followed by a shocking new twist in fate for Nathan. His wife pushes him out of the way of Daunte's car seeking revenge. She, along with their unborn son, are hit. His brother (who did not take his heart pills) collapses. He has pulled Daunte from his car and after a succession of punches, the loan shark lies dead. Has he killed him or did the crash? Will Haley and their son survive? Will his brother's heart beat again? Will his father take the blame for the death of Daunte? Will Nathan's past moral victories help him thru this or will he break? Stay tuned!!!