Quotations
I imagine Ill do my fair share of coaching but it might be soccer, volleyball, football at a kids level. I never burn bridges and I never say never but to me that sounds a lot more exciting than just about anything else.
On if he coaching is in his future
I like Jason Kidd, I like the way he competes. People have criticisms of his game but one thing the guy does is he competes and he lays it all out here an I respect that.
On what point guard he likes to watch
Its the best game in world, thats part of the fun playing with Jerry (Sloan) – he recognizes that and protects it. Some people dont understand that protection but he will fight for this game. Id say its something Ive loved since I was a kid.
On his love for basketball
No, you dont know the agony it took to get to that point. Once I reached that point I was sure, even if it didnt come out very well.
On if he ever thought about changing his mind
Probably my older brother. I never won at anything for probably the first 18 years of my life; I lost everything I did. All I really wanted to do was beat him once at something and I didnt care what it was.
On what made him so competitive
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Encyclopedia
John Houston Stockton is a former professional basketball player. He spent his entire career as a point guard for the
Utah Jazz of the
National Basketball Association . Stockton is regarded as one of the best point guards of all time, holding the NBA record for career assists and steals.
Early years
John Stockton was born and raised in
Spokane, Washington and attended Gonzaga Preparatory School, graduating in 1980. He then played college
basketball for
Gonzaga University in his hometown. He was selected by the Jazz in the first round of the 1984 NBA Draft.
NBA career
Though only 6'1" in a league of giants, Stockton is considered one of the NBA's greatest point guards ever. He averaged a career double-double, with 13.1 points and 10.5 assists per game. As of 2005, he held the NBA's records for career assists by a large margin and career steals . He had five of the top six assists seasons in NBA history . He holds the NBA record for the most seasons and consecutive games played with one team, and is third in total games played, behind
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and
Robert Parish. He missed only 22 games during his career, 18 of them in one season.
Stockton appeared in 10 All-Star games, and was named co-MVP of the game in 1993 with Jazz teammate
Karl Malone. He played with the 1992 and 1996 US Olympic basketball teams, known as Dream Teams I and II, the first Olympic squads to feature NBA players. He was selected to the All-NBA First Team twice, the Second Team six times, the Third Team three times, and the All-Defensive Second Team five times. He was named one of the
50 Greatest Players In NBA History in 1996. Stockton's career highlight came in Game 6 of the 1997 Western Conference Finals, in which he hit the winning shot over Houston's
Charles Barkley to send the Jazz to its first NBA Finals.
For many years, he and Malone were the Jazz's 1-2 punch. The two played a record 1,412 regular-season games together as teammates. Most of Stockton's assists resulted from passes to Malone. In
Salt Lake City, this is commemorated by a car dealership with the name
Stockton to Malone Honda.
Stockton earned the "old school" tag for his physical play ; his uniform "
short shorts" ; his conservative dress off the court, which contrasted with many of his NBA contemporaries; and his reserved behavior.
On May 2 2003, Stockton announced his retirement with a released statement instead of the customary news conference. The Jazz later held a retirement ceremony for him, in which Salt Lake City renamed the street in front of the
Delta Center, where the Jazz play, "John Stockton Drive." His number-12 jersey was retired by the Jazz during a game on November 22, 2004. A statue of Stockton can be seen in front of the Delta Center; an accompanying statue of
Karl Malone was placed nearby on March 23, 2006. The Malone and Stockton statues stand on a bronze plaque commemorating their achievements together.
Stockton and his wife, the former Nada Stepovich , have two daughters, Lindsay and Laura, and four sons, Houston, Michael, David and Samuel. They live in Spokane next door to his parents.
Player profile
The ten-time NBA All-Star holds the NBA record for career assists with 15,806 , and for assists per game over one season . Stockton is one of three players who have logged more than 1,000 assists in one season, joining Kevin Porter and
Isiah Thomas in the exclusive list. Stockton did this
seven times, with season totals of 1164, 1134, 1128, 1126, 1118, 1031 and 1011 assists . He and Karl Malone are regarded as the quintessential
pick and roll duo. Apart from his passing skill, Stockton was also known for being a capable scorer with a reliable three-point shot . He scored one career triple double, which came in a playoff game against the
Dallas Mavericks.
On defense, Stockton holds the NBA record for career steals with 3,265, nearly 30 percent more than second placed
Michael Jordan, who had 2,514, and 800 more career steals than
Gary Payton, third on the list . Similar to his eternal partner Malone, he was known for being a dirty, but effective defender, earning five NBA All-Defensive Second Team nominations.
Stockton was known for his unassuming, no-nonsense approach to the game, hard-nosed defense, and fanatical work-ethic in preparation, which resulted in his extreme durability. He played 1,504 of 1,526 possible games in his 19-season career. In his first 13 seasons, he missed only four games. In his last season at age 41, he started in all 82 games, with a more than decent season of 10.8 ppg and 7.7 apg.
The legendary coach
John Wooden said that John Stockton was the only player in the NBA that he would pay to watch. Stockton avoided endorsements, and stayed loyal to Utah despite being offered significantly more money by other teams. He took a pay-cut to make salary-cap space so the team could improve; taking ice time for his son's hockey team instead.
On May 11, 2006, ESPN.com named Stockton the 4th best point guard of all time .
External links
