John Houston Stockton (born March 26, 1962) is an American former professionalbasketball player. Regarded as one of the greatestpoint guards of all time, hespent his entire NBA career (1984–2003) with theUtah Jazz, and the team made the playoffs in all of his 19 seasons. In1997 and1998, together with his longtime teammateKarl Malone, Stockton led the Jazz to the franchise's only twoNBA Finals appearances, both of which ended in losses to theChicago Bulls.
Stockton was a ten-timeNBA All-Star and holds the NBA records for most careerassists andsteals by wide margins.[1][2][3] He was inducted into theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009 for his individual career, and again in 2010 as a member of the1992 United States Olympic basketball team.[4] In 1996, he was named one of the50 greatest players in NBA history.[5] In October 2021, Stockton was again honored as one of the league's greatest players of all time by being named to theNBA 75th Anniversary Team.[6]
Stockton was born and raised inSpokane, Washington,[7][8] to Clementine (née Frei) and Jack Stockton.[9][10] He attended grade school at St. Aloysius and moved on to high school atGonzaga Prep and graduated in 1980, after breaking the city record for points scored in a single basketball season.[11][12][13][14]
After considering offers fromDon Monson atIdaho andMike Montgomery atMontana (both in theBig Sky Conference), Stockton decided to stay in Spokane and playcollege basketball forDan Fitzgerald atGonzaga University.[15] He became the third generation in his family at GU; grandfatherHouston Stockton was a well-known football player for the Bulldogs in the 1920s.[15] Fitzgerald was also the athletic director; he stepped away from coaching for four years after Stockton's freshman year and promoted assistantJay Hillock to head coach.[16]
During his senior year for theBulldogs in1984, Stockton averaged 20.9 points per game shooting 57%from the field. The Zags posted a 17–11 record, their best in 17 years, and Stockton led theWest Coast Athletic Conference in scoring, assists, and steals.[17] For his performance, he was namedWCAC Player of the Year, the first-ever Gonzaga player to earn the award.[18]
He was one of 74 college players invited to the spring tryouts for the1984 U.S. Olympic team coached byBob Knight.[19][20] Stockton made the initial cut in April to the final 20, but was one of four released in May (withCharles Barkley,Terry Porter, andMaurice Martin) in the penultimate cut to 16 players.[21][22] Though not selected, the experience led him to meet his future teammate and friend,Karl Malone.[23]
In June 1984, Stockton was selected by theUtah Jazz in the first round of the1984 NBA draft as the 16th overall pick.[24] Though he was relatively unknown during his college career, his stock rose significantly in the months before theNBA draft.[25] Nevertheless, the announcement of his selection to the thousands of Jazz fans gathered at theSalt Palace on draft day was met with a stunned silence.[24] On November 10, 1984, Stockton had his highest scoring game as a rookie, with 19 points in only 19 minutes of playing time, during a loss against theDenver Nuggets.[26]
Stockton became the starting point guard for the Jazz in the 1987–88 season. That season, despite eventually finishing tenth inMVP voting and being named to the All-NBA Second Team after averaging 14.7 points, 13.8 assists (best in the league), and 3 steals a game, Stockton was not selected to play in the1988 NBA All-Star Game.[27] In 1988–89, he played in his first All-Star Game; that season he also led the league in steals per game (while once again leading the NBA in assists per game, which he would do for nine consecutive seasons). Stockton also led the league in steals per game in 1991-92.
On January 15, 1991, Stockton scored 20 points and dished out a career-high and franchise-record 28 assists in a 124–102 home win against theSan Antonio Spurs.[28] On February 12, Stockton nearly recorded a triple-double after putting up 19 points, 11 assists, and 9 steals in a 113–92 win over theHouston Rockets.[29]
In 1992, Stockton and the Jazz reached the Western Conference Finals for the first time; however, they were defeated by thePortland Trail Blazers in six games. Along with Malone, Stockton was named co-MVP of the All-Star Game in 1993 and the game was held inSalt Lake City.
During the 1994–95 season, Stockton achieved many milestones. On February 1, 1995, he passed Magic Johnson (who had 9,921 assists) as the NBA's all-time leader in assists as he dished out 16 assists in a 129–98 victory over the visitingDenver Nuggets. His 16 assists gave him 9,937 assists for his career at that time. Magic Johnson, in an interview, said to Stockton, "John, from one assist man to another, you are the greatest team leader I have ever played against."[30] Seventeen days later, Stockton dished out 15 assists in a 108–98 victory over theBoston Celtics. His 15 assists gave him a career total of 10,008 assists, the first-ever player to have dished out 10,000 assists in his career.[31] On March 25, Stockton became just the second player in NBA history to have recorded 2,000 steals after recording 6 steals in a 117–110 loss to theDallas Mavericks.[32]
Stockton and the Jazz reached the Conference Finals again in 1994 and 1996, but lost to theHouston Rockets and theSeattle SuperSonics, respectively.[33]
Utah set a franchise record and led the Western Conference with 64 wins in the 1996–97 season. The team again reached the Western Conference Finals. In Game Six of the Conference Finals, Stockton scored 25 points, dished out 13 assists, and made a buzzer-beating, game-winning three-point shot over the Rockets'Charles Barkley to send the Jazz to the first of two consecutiveNBA Finals appearances.[33] Stockton's game-winner became known as "The Shot".[34] In Game 3 of the1997 NBA Finals, Stockton recorded 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 12 assists in their first Finals' win in franchise history.[35] The Jazz were defeated by theMichael Jordan-ledChicago Bulls in six games in the Finals.[33]
Stockton missed the first 18 games of the 1997–98 season with a knee injury, but the Jazz returned to the NBA Finals and again faced the Bulls.[33] InGame 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals, Stockton made a three-pointer with 41.9 seconds left to give the Jazz a lead, but Bulls guardMichael Jordan made two field goals to put his team ahead 87–86. Stockton missed a three-point attempt with 5.2 seconds left and said in a post-game interview that he felt confident the shot would go in.[36] The Bulls again defeated the Jazz in six games.[33]
The Jazz made the NBA playoffs every season during Stockton's 19-year NBA career.[33]
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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 venue known as Delta Center, where the Jazz play,John Stockton Drive.[37] Stockton would later declare that despite being still content with the game and how well he was playing, his growing family made him feel that "sitting in the hotel room waiting for games wasn't making up for what I was missing at home."[23]
Stockton's number 12 jersey was retired by the Jazz during a game on November 22, 2004. Astatue 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 was inducted into theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.[38] Stockton was also inducted into the Hall of Fame along with the rest of the 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team in 2010.[39]
Stockton was notable for his durability, missing only 22 games in his 19-season career and playing every game of 17 seasons.[40] In his first 13 seasons, he missed only four games (all in the1989–90 season) until he missed the first 18 games of the1997–98 season due to an injuredMCL in his left knee sustained in the preseason.[41] That was the only major injury in his career, and he never missed another game after returning from that injury.[42][43][44] Stockton earned the "old school" tag for his physical play; surveys of athletes and fans alike often judged him among the toughest players in the NBA, usually just behind teammate Karl Malone. Stockton's tenacity also earned him a reputation among some in the league as being a dirty player, as suggested by a pollSports Illustrated conducted in 1997 where he was voted as the second dirtiest player in the league behindDennis Rodman.[45] His patented "shortshorts" became known as "Stocktons"—since he continued to wear the style long after the rest of the league had adopted a baggier look.[46]
Stockton's career is also notable for its consistency and longevity. He remained a starting NBA player until his retirement at age 41.[40] Stockton avoided most endorsements and stayed loyal to Utah despite being offered more money by other teams. In 1996, he agreed to a deal that made salary-cap space available so the team could improve, but in exchange, he insisted on guaranteedDelta Center ice time for his son's hockey team.[47]
For many years, Karl Malone and Stockton were the Jazz's one-two punch. The two played a record 1,412 regular season games together as teammates. Many of Stockton's assists resulted from passes to Malone. Stockton and Malone have been described as the greatest pick-and-roll combination of all time.[48] Stockton and Malone are also considered the two best players to never have won anNBA championship.[49]
Stockton holds a commanding lead for the NBA record for career assists with 15,806.[50] He was the first player to reach the 10,000 through 15,000 career assist milestones. Stockton also holds the record for assists-per-game average over one season (14.5 in 1990)[33] and is one of three players who have logged more than 1,000 assists in one season, joiningKevin Porter (1,099 in 1979) andIsiah Thomas (1,123 in 1985) in the exclusive list. Stockton did this seven times, with season totals of 1,164, 1,134, 1,128, 1,126, 1,118, 1,031 and 1,011 assists.[51]
On defense, Stockton holds the NBA record for careersteals with 3,265.[52] Stockton was also a capable scorer (13.1 points per game career average and a 51.5 career shooting percentage) with a reliable three-point shot (38.4% lifetime average). As of February 2023, he is 55th on the all-time NBA scoring list with 19,711 career points.[53]
Stockton was selected to theAll-NBA First Team twice, theAll-NBA Second Team six times, theAll-NBA Third Team three times, and the NBA All-Defensive Second Team five times.[44] He was selected to 10 All-Star Games.[54] He was named one of the50 Greatest Players in NBA history in 1996.[40] On May 11, 2006,ESPN.com named Stockton the fourth bestpoint guard of all time.[55] In October 2021, Stockton was again honored as one of the league's greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team[6] In 1999,Sports Illustrated named Stockton as the best athlete to come out of the state of Washington in the 20th century.[56] In 2022, to commemorate the NBA's 75th AnniversaryThe Athletic ranked their top 75 players of all time, and named Stockton as the 25th greatest player in NBA history.[57]
Stockton, along with other NBA stars, played on theUnited States national team in the1992 Olympics inBarcelona, Spain.[58] The 1992 team was the first U.S. Olympic squad to feature NBA players.[59] The team became known as the Dream Team; theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame called it "the greatest collection of basketball talent on the planet".[60] Stockton also played on the 1996 U.S. men's Olympic basketball team.[39] Stockton won gold medals with both the 1992 and 1996 teams.[61]
Following his retirement, Stockton moved back to his hometown Spokane.[62] He started coaching in youth teams, being "an assistant on seven or eight teams at once" in 2003.[23] The Jazz also invited Stockton to train bothDeron Williams andTrey Burke.[63] Stockton also became involved in various businesses including construction projects.[23]
In 2013, Stockton released an autobiography entitledAssisted. The book was written with the assistance of his junior high school coach, Kerry L. Pickett.Karl Malone wrote the foreword.[64] Stockton was on the Jazz's long list of coaching candidates to replaceTyrone Corbin before the selection ofQuin Snyder.[65]
On October 28, 2015, Stockton joinedMontana State University's women's basketball program as an assistant coach to replace Kellee Barney.[66][67][68] Barney left the program to pursue a career in business, and Stockton had previously coached four of the players on the MSU women's team when they played for teams inAmateur Athletic Union leagues.[66]
In 2021, Stockton appeared in a video series titled "V-Revealed, COVID Edition," raising doubt about theCOVID-19 pandemic and warning against vaccines. Stockton said he had done a "significant amount of research" and determined, "This isn't a virus cheating us of these opportunities. It's the guys making decisions saying, 'No, no, we're too scared. We're going to shut everything down.'"[69] He made the claim that "hundreds" of athletes had died due to receiving a COVID vaccine, which was found byPolitiFact to be a false statement.[70] In January 2022, Gonzaga suspended his season tickets because of his refusal to comply with the university's mask mandate.[71]
In 2024, Stockton co-founded, with Ken Ruettgers, retired NFL tackle for the Green Bay Packers, the organization Voices for Medical Freedom, which is publicly described as a community of influencers - "athletes, musicians, entertainers, actors, scientists, leading business people, and elite military personnel," and has been a host with the Voices for Medical Freedom Video Podcast.
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Hust Stockton, Stockton's grandfather (born John Houston Stockton) played professional football for theFrankford Yellow Jackets in the nascentNational Football League in the 1920s; Stockton was a member of the Yellow Jackets' 1926 NFL Championship team.[72][73]
Stockton and his wife, the former Nada Stepovich (the daughter of Matilda Stepovich andMike Stepovich, the last territorial governor ofAlaska)[74][75] reside inSpokane.[76][77] They have two daughters (Lindsay andLaura) and four sons (Houston,Michael,David, and Samuel).[78] Stockton and his family areCatholics.[79]
Houston Stockton playedcollege football as adefensive back for theMontana Grizzlies.[80][81] In 2011, Michael Stockton, who played basketball atSalt Lake City'sWestminster College,[80][82] signed withBG Karlsruhe in Germany's second basketball division.[83] In 2017, Michael signed withBG Göttingen in Germany's first basketball division, theBasketball Bundesliga.[84]David Stockton completed his college basketball career at Gonzaga in2014 and, after playing for theReno Bighorns in theNBA's Development League, played for the NBA'sSacramento Kings andUtah Jazz.[85] Daughter Lindsay Stockton played basketball forMontana State University[86] and daughterLaura Stockton played basketball atGonzaga.[87]
Laura signed her first professional contract to play for Herner TC inGermany in 2020.[88] In 2022, she signed a contract with theTK Hannover Luchse ("Lynxes") inLower Saxony, Germany, where she soon became a fan favorite thanks to her powerful, aggressive playing style. In that season, Laura Stockton and the Lynxes won the German Cup and reached the championship finals, gaining home advantage as top seeded team after the regular season. After forward and scoring leader Angel Rizor suffered a broken hand in game 1, they lost 0–3 against the new champions, the Keltern Stars.[89]
Stockton has a brother and three nephews who have played college basketball. Steve Stockton, his brother, played for theUniversity of Washington.[80] Steve Stockton's oldest son Steve Stockton Jr. played atWhitworth College;[80] another son, Shawn Stockton finished his college basketball career at theUniversity of Montana in the 2011–12 season;[80][90] and Steve's youngest son, Riley played forSeattle Pacific.[91]
Stockton has appeared in television commercials for Foot Locker,[92] State Farm Insurance,[93] and Diet Pepsi.[94]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| * | Led the league | ‡ | NBA record |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984–85 | Utah | 82 | 5 | 18.2 | .471 | .182 | .736 | 1.3 | 5.1 | 1.3 | .1 | 5.6 |
| 1985–86 | Utah | 82 | 38 | 23.6 | .489 | .133 | .839 | 2.2 | 7.4 | 1.9 | .1 | 7.7 |
| 1986–87 | Utah | 82 | 2 | 22.7 | .499 | .179 | .782 | 1.8 | 8.2 | 2.2 | .2 | 7.9 |
| 1987–88 | Utah | 82 | 79 | 34.7 | .574 | .358 | .840 | 2.9 | 13.8* | 3.0 | .2 | 14.7 |
| 1988–89 | Utah | 82 | 82 | 38.7 | .538 | .242 | .863 | 3.0 | 13.6* | 3.2* | .2 | 17.1 |
| 1989–90 | Utah | 78 | 78 | 37.4 | .514 | .416 | .819 | 2.6 | 14.5‡ | 2.7 | .2 | 17.2 |
| 1990–91 | Utah | 82 | 82 | 37.8 | .507 | .345 | .836 | 2.9 | 14.2* | 2.9 | .2 | 17.2 |
| 1991–92 | Utah | 82 | 82 | 36.6 | .482 | .407 | .842 | 3.3 | 13.7* | 3.0* | .3 | 15.8 |
| 1992–93 | Utah | 82 | 82 | 34.9 | .486 | .385 | .798 | 2.9 | 12.0* | 2.4 | .3 | 15.1 |
| 1993–94 | Utah | 82 | 82 | 36.2 | .528 | .322 | .805 | 3.1 | 12.6* | 2.4 | .3 | 15.1 |
| 1994–95 | Utah | 82* | 82* | 35.0 | .542 | .449 | .804 | 3.1 | 12.3* | 2.4 | .3 | 14.7 |
| 1995–96 | Utah | 82 | 82* | 35.5 | .538 | .422 | .830 | 2.8 | 11.2* | 1.7 | .2 | 14.7 |
| 1996–97 | Utah | 82 | 82* | 35.3 | .548 | .422 | .846 | 2.8 | 10.5 | 2.0 | .2 | 14.4 |
| 1997–98 | Utah | 64 | 64 | 29.0 | .528 | .429 | .827 | 2.6 | 8.5 | 1.4 | .2 | 12.0 |
| 1998–99 | Utah | 50* | 50* | 28.2 | .488 | .320 | .811 | 2.9 | 7.5 | 1.6 | .3 | 11.1 |
| 1999–00 | Utah | 82 | 82* | 29.7 | .501 | .355 | .860 | 2.6 | 8.6 | 1.7 | .2 | 12.1 |
| 2000–01 | Utah | 82 | 82* | 29.1 | .504 | .462 | .817 | 2.8 | 8.7 | 1.6 | .3 | 11.5 |
| 2001–02 | Utah | 82 | 82 | 31.3 | .517 | .321 | .857 | 3.2 | 8.2 | 1.9 | .3 | 13.4 |
| 2002–03 | Utah | 82 | 82* | 27.7 | .483 | .363 | .826 | 2.5 | 7.7 | 1.7 | .2 | 10.8 |
| Career | 1,504 | 1,300 | 31.8 | .515 | .384 | .826 | 2.7 | 10.5 | 2.2 | .2 | 13.1 | |
| All-Star | 10 | 5 | 19.7 | .530 | .333 | .667 | 1.7 | 7.1 | 1.6 | .1 | 8.1 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Utah | 10 | 0 | 18.6 | .467 | .000 | .743 | 2.8 | 4.3 | 1.1 | .2 | 6.8 |
| 1986 | Utah | 4 | 0 | 14.3 | .529 | 1.000 | .889 | 1.5 | 3.5 | 1.3 | .0 | 6.8 |
| 1987 | Utah | 5 | 2 | 31.4 | .621 | .800 | .729 | 2.2 | 8.0 | 3.0 | .2 | 10.0 |
| 1988 | Utah | 11 | 11 | 43.5 | .507 | .286 | .824 | 4.1 | 14.8 | 3.4 | .3 | 19.5 |
| 1989 | Utah | 3 | 3 | 46.3 | .508 | .750 | .905 | 3.3 | 13.7 | 3.7 | 1.7 | 27.3 |
| 1990 | Utah | 5 | 5 | 38.8 | .420 | .077 | .800 | 3.2 | 15.0 | 1.2 | .0 | 15.0 |
| 1991 | Utah | 9 | 9 | 41.4 | .537 | .407 | .841 | 4.7 | 13.8 | 2.2 | .2 | 18.2 |
| 1992 | Utah | 16 | 16 | 38.9 | .423 | .310 | .833 | 2.9 | 13.6 | 2.1 | .3 | 14.8 |
| 1993 | Utah | 5 | 5 | 38.6 | .451 | .385 | .833 | 2.4 | 11.0 | 2.4 | .0 | 13.2 |
| 1994 | Utah | 16 | 16 | 37.3 | .456 | .167 | .810 | 3.3 | 9.8 | 1.7 | .5 | 14.4 |
| 1995 | Utah | 5 | 5 | 38.6 | .459 | .400 | .765 | 3.4 | 10.2 | 1.4 | .2 | 17.8 |
| 1996 | Utah | 18 | 18 | 37.7 | .446 | .289 | .814 | 3.2 | 10.8 | 1.6 | .4 | 11.1 |
| 1997 | Utah | 20 | 20 | 37.0 | .521 | .380 | .856 | 3.9 | 9.6 | 1.7 | .3 | 16.1 |
| 1998 | Utah | 20 | 20 | 29.8 | .494 | .346 | .718 | 3.0 | 7.8 | 1.6 | .2 | 11.1 |
| 1999 | Utah | 11 | 11 | 32.0 | .400 | .333 | .739 | 3.3 | 8.4 | 1.6 | .1 | 11.1 |
| 2000 | Utah | 10 | 10 | 35.0 | .461 | .389 | .767 | 3.0 | 10.3 | 1.3 | .2 | 11.2 |
| 2001 | Utah | 5 | 5 | 37.2 | .459 | .000 | .714 | 5.6 | 11.4 | 2.0 | .6 | 9.8 |
| 2002 | Utah | 4 | 4 | 35.3 | .450 | .286 | .923 | 4.0 | 10.0 | 2.8 | .3 | 12.5 |
| 2003 | Utah | 5 | 5 | 29.8 | .462 | .000 | 1.000 | 3.2 | 5.2 | 1.6 | .2 | 11.2 |
| Career | 182 | 165 | 35.2 | .473 | .326 | .810 | 3.3 | 10.1 | 1.9 | .3 | 13.4 | |
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