page_title: John Stockton
section_title: Player profile
hierarchical_section_title: John Stockton / Player profile
caption_attribution_description: English: Professional basketball player John Stockton
context_page_description: John Houston Stockton is an American retired professional basketball player. He spent his entire NBA career as a point guard for the Utah Jazz, and the team made the playoffs in each of his 19 seasons. In 1997 and 1998, together with his longtime teammate Karl Malone, Stockton led the Jazz to the franchise's only two NBA Finals appearances. Stockton is a ten-time NBA All-Star and a two-time Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee. In 1996, he was named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history. Stockton holds the NBA records for most career assists and steals by wide margins and is regarded as one of the greatest point guards of all time.
context_section_description: Stockton missed only 22 games in his 19-season career. In his first 13 seasons, he missed only four games (all in the 1989–90 season) until he missed the first 18 games of the 1997–98 season due to an injured MCL in his left knee sustained in the preseason. That was the only major injury in his career, and he never missed another game after returning from that injury. 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 evidenced by a poll Sports Illustrated conducted in 1997 where he was voted as the second dirtiest player in the league behind Dennis Rodman. His patented "short shorts" became known as "Stocktons"—since he continued to wear the style long after the rest of the league had adopted a baggier look.
  Stockton's career is also notable for its consistency and longevity. He remained a starting NBA player until his retirement at age 41. Stockton's Utah Jazz made the NBA playoffs in all 19 of his seasons in the league. 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 guaranteed Delta Center ice time for his son's hockey team.
  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. Stockton and Malone are also considered two of the best players who never won an NBA championship.
  Stockton holds a commanding lead for the NBA record for career assists with 15,806. Stockton 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 1,164, 1,134, 1,128, 1,126, 1,118, 1,031 and 1,011 assists.
  On defense, Stockton holds the NBA record for career steals with 3,265. In second place is Jason Kidd, with 2,684. 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 April 2019, he is 49th on the all-time NBA scoring list with 19,711 career points.
  Stockton was selected to the All-NBA First Team twice, the All-NBA Second Team six times, the All-NBA Third Team three times, and the NBA All-Defensive Second Team five times. He was selected to 10 All-Star Games. He was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA history in 1996. On May 11, 2006, ESPN.com named Stockton the fourth best point guard of all time.
caption: Stockton, circa 1988
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