John Stockton is one of the best point guards to ever play in the NBA. A 10-time All-Star, John led the league in assists for nine consecutive seasons and also in steals in two of those nine seasons.
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What made Stockton, so great was his unselfishness. He always looked to make the right play, whether it was passing to an open teammate or taking a shot himself.
That led to him averaging over 10 assists per game for his career. He finished as the top assist provider of the NBA playing 18 seasons while also being at the top of the steals column on all-time.
Both those records of him might never be broken. This is the reason why Baron Davis, one of the best point guards of the 2000s considers him Tom Brady or Payton Manning of Basketball despite having no titles in his career.
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Baron Davis felt John Stockton was Tom Brady or Payton Manning of Basketball
In an appearance on the Endless Hustle Podcast a couple of years ago, the 2x All-Star and one of the most overlooked players in NBA history, Baron Davis, reminisced how he felt like he was in a Matrix when he played John Stockton for the first time.
“He was just science. He was tactical, dude. Everything he did had a purpose. My first experience with John Stockton is I go in the game—‘Oh sh*t, that’s John Stockton. Man, I’m about to prove myself, I’m about to pick this fool off,’” said Davis.
Actually, it wasn’t just him. Everyone who watched Stockton from afar thought he wasn’t as good as the individual accolades he was piling up. But those who played against him knew the reality.
Davis continued, “I was on the bench so fast. I was in the game for like two minutes. All my life I got my certain amount of minutes, and I was on the bench in two minutes with three turnovers. And he stole the ball two out of the three times and made me turn it over a third time. That was devastating, to be frank.
He was like Tom Brady to me in basketball. He didn’t win a championship, but he’s one of them Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and precision passers. Just like, you don’t think I got a lot of mobility, but I’ll tear your ass up.”
How good was Stockton the Super Bowl like Games?
Stockton had a knack for making big plays in clutch situations. In Game 6 of the 1997 Western Conference Finals, he hit a running jumper with under two seconds left to give the Jazz a 3-point over the Rockets when they were tied at 100 each.
The Jazz lost the Finals to Michael Jordan’s Bulls, though. Despite his impressive resume, Stockton’s consideration in the greatest ever takes a dent because he played on a small market team and never won a championship.
But not winning a ring was because he played during Michael Jordan’s era when several other great players were competing. But it doesn’t change the fact that John Stockton is one of the greatest to ever play the point position.
