“John Stockton is head and shoulders above everybody else!”: Utah Jazz’s retired No.12 led the league in assists for 9 consecutive seasons 

Arun Sharma | 16/04/2022
"John Stockton is head and shoulders above everybody else!": Utah Jazz's retired No.12 led the league in assists for 9 consecutive seasons 

John Stockton is the definition of a pass-first point guard – he sits pretty at the top of the leading assists totals.

15,806 assists – that is the number of assists John Stockton has racked up in the 19 years of his career. Playing 1504 regular-season games, he was one of the best passers ever. He’s racked up more assists than Kawhi Leonard has points so far. He and Karl Malone had a special bond, much akin to Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant did.

One thing even crazier about his career is the fact that he played 16/19 seasons where he did not miss one single game of the season. Tell that to someone like LeBron James who actively load manages to keep himself ready for the next season. Stockton owns the record for the most number of 10+ assists games in history – 863 games.

He did his job like no other – no one before him, and none since. Leading the league for 9 consecutive seasons for total assists, Stock was throwing dimes a dozen aplenty. Karl Malone must have been eternally grateful to have this master passer with him for so long.

Also Read: “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for Karl Malone”: John Stockton and his partner in crime for 18-years with the Jazz still share the same bond

Many thought Kareem Abdul Jabbar’s record will not be touched – they should consider changing their allegiance to John Stockton now

For years people thought 38,000 points could not be touched – LeBron is about to break it in the next 50-60 games. But in this era of point guards almost becoming the primary scorers of a team, this assists record is virtually untouchable. Even Chris Paul cannot beat this record, because he would have to continue playing until 42 while producing the same numbers.

Not many people speak about the assists record because it isn’t flashy. Points have always been the main focus, but assists make the game easier. Stockton leads the league in two separate stats – he also owns the record for the most number of steals. 3,265 steals is no joke, combined with the assists record, he was just the perfect guard.

He did not play for the records as well – it was something that he knew was helping the team be the best version of itself. Not being a stat-padder is probably the best quality about him. That combined with him, not missing games all that often set up an infallible record.

Maybe someone comes into the league with the sole purpose of emulating John Stockton – cannot be anyone from the current crop, can it?

Also Read: “John Stockton is the best pure point guard ever”: Charles Barkley gives his flowers to the Utah Jazz legend, snubbing out the likes of Chris Paul, Steve Nash, and Jason Kidd

 

Post Edited By: Arjun Julka
Assist record John Stockton John Stockton 12 Utah Jazz

About the author

Arun Sharma

Arun Sharma is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. A double degree holder and a digital marketer by trade, Arun has always been a sports buff. He fell in love with the sport of basketball at a young age and has been a Lakers fan since 2006. What started as a Kobe Bryant obsession slowly turned into a lifelong connection with the purple and gold. Arun has been an ardent subscriber to the Mamba mentality and has shed tears for a celebrity death only once in his life. He believes January 26, 2020, was the turning point in the passage of time because Kobe was the glue holding things together. From just a Lakers bandwagoner to a basketball fanatic, Arun has spent 16 long years growing up along with the league. He thinks Stephen Curry has ruined basketball forever, and the mid-range game is a sight to behold. Sharma also has many opinions about football (not the American kind), F1, MotoGP, tennis, and cricket.

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