John Stockton 

John Houston Stockton (born March 26, 1962) is a former American professional basketball player. He spent his entire career (1984–2003) as a point guard for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Stockton is regarded as one of the best point guards of all time, holding the NBA record for career assists and steals.

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. He holds the NBA's records for career assists (15,806) by a large margin and career steals (3,265). He had five of the top six assists seasons in NBA history (the other belonging to Isiah Thomas). 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, which was held in Salt Lake City, Utah. 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 (surveys of athletes and fans alike often judged him among the toughest players in the NBA, usually just behind teammate Karl Malone); his uniform "short shorts" (he was the last notable NBA player to wear them, clinging to the style long after the rest of the league had adopted today's baggy look); 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 (daughter of Michael Anthony Stepovich, the penultimate territorial governor of Alaska), 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
Stockton, a 10-time NBA All-Star commandingly holds the NBA record for career assists with 15,806 (10.5 per game), and had 5,483 more career assists than Mark Jackson, who is second all-time. For perspective, only 33 players in NBA history have recorded more than 5,483 assists in their entire careers. He also holds the record for assists-per-game average over one season (14.5 in 1990), and is one of three players who have logged more than 1,000 assists in one season, joining Kevin Porter (1,099 in 1979) and Isiah Thomas (1,123 in 1985) 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 (13.1 points per game career average, with a high .515 shooting percentage) with a reliable three-point shot (.384 lifetime average). He is 30th on the all-time NBA scoring list with 19,711 career points. He recorded 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. Stockton has 800 more career steals than Gary Payton, who is third on the list. Similar to his career-long partner Malone, Stockton was considered a "dirty" defender by some, but he was certainly effective, 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.

Stockton avoided endorsements, and stayed loyal to Utah despite being offered significantly more money by other teams. In 1996 he agreed to a deal that made salary-cap space available so the team could improve, but insisted on guaranteed Delta Center ice time for his son's hockey team.

On May 11, 2006, ESPN.com named Stockton the 4th best point guard of all time

John Stockton. (2007, January 8). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 05:27, January 12, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Stockton&oldid=99290553

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