“I compare him to John Stockton.”
—All-Star Jason Kidd

“He’s got a lot of Mark Price in him. Jeff Hornacek, too.”
—All-Star Gary Payton

“He is a lot like Stockton. What they lack in athletic ability, they make up in other things.”
—Former NBA head coach Flip Saunders

“His first objective is keeping everyone else in the game.”
—Former teammate Michael Finley

“He became my best friend immediately. I was homesick, always calling home to Germany. And Steve was the first one who made me feel really welcome here.”
—Former teammate Dirk Nowitzki

“He’s a sweet player. He’s a natural leader”
—Hall of Famer K.C. Jones

“You don’t fully appreciate him until you have a guy on your team with his impact on and off the floor.”
—Suns head coach Mike D’Antoni

“A lot of people think we overpaid, but I think he’s proved his worth.”
—Suns GM Bryan Colangelo

“Steve knows where everybody is on the court. It's just a sense of calm when he's out there controlling the team.”
—Teammate Quentin Richardson

“He’s unorthodox. I think that makes him the player he is.”
—Former All-Star Damon Stoudamire

“He’s a gym rat. One day, he’ll learn something, and he’ll go out there and practice, practice, practice.”
—Former All-Star Tim Hardaway

“He’s a great player, great shooter, very dangerous because he’s always attacking you.”
—Spurs star Tony Parker

“Steve doesn’t take a play off.”
—NBA guard Earl Boykins

“Nash may get 30 on you, but it’s his 14-assist games that kill you.”
—NBA coach Scott Skiles

“He has great vision, and he’s a good enough perimeter shooter. He’s very competitive and he’s a good passer. Good passers with a playmaker mentality are hard to come by. He has all of those qualities.”
—Former NBA coach Jack Ramsay

“I always knew the guy was going to be a player, and the reason is not just the things on the court that he does.”
—NBA coach Donnie Nelson

“As a coach, you search for players with that X-factor that brings people together. Steve has it. It’s nothing you can see in a scouting report, nothing you quantify watching a guy go through drills, but guys like that bring teams closer.”
—Nelson

“Steve isn’t as athletically gifted as most guys he faces. It’s by necessity he has that mental edge.”
—Nelson

“It’s all about Steve’s hair. He loves the fact that it gets such a response from people.”
—Mavs owner Mark Cuban

“Born leaders like Steve don’t come along that often. You feel secure knowing that if Steve wins the lottery, he’s not going to quit his job.”
—NBA scout Jim Hadnot

“A lot of the players want to help out individuals and communities, quietly, without a big fuss. That’s what Steve is all about.”
—Canadian basketball coach Gus Triano

“Nobody fits in like Steve.”
—Triano

“I’m really proud of him being in the NBA, but I’m more proud of the person he has become.”
—Jean Nash