NBA Legends Explain Why John Stockton Would Destroy you 

I own 8 autographed jerseys and there is only one that isn't a Chicago Bull and it is John Stockton. That is how much I respect the man!

Stockton was basically playing a robot. No flash. Lil emotion. Dribble, pass, and shooting was great. Really smart. Never injured. Indestructible. Straight fundamentals. No mistakes. Guy was a 6'1 robot. Hard to beat someone who makes no mistakes

John Stockton was the best pure point guard of all tine!❤

John Stockton was the best PG of all time, possessing calm game-making and accurate shooting techniques throughout. Kobe Bryant named Stockton as the "player he respects the most," and Magic Johnson praised him, calling him "a man worth respecting."

All time leader in steals and assists - by a TON. Set nasty picks and scrapped with the best of them, yet missed only 22 games in 19 seasons despite being 6'1", 170 . He was quiet, humble, tough as hell and principled, but he played in Utah. No wonder he's so underrated, except by his peers.

Stockton was the best pure PG I've ever seen. He actually could dunk a basketball with ease but never seen him attempt one during a game.

90s Chicago fan. The jazz and Knicks were always a threat

Stockton was the definition of consistency.

I am not sure why he isn’t praised more. The fact that he holds the assists and steals records all time for the nba and NO ONE is even close to passing him for those records speaks alot. I believe his records in those two categories are set in stone.

Stocktons records are like Wilt's they are so far ahead of the rest of the players they are ignored. Dude was the perfect point guard.

What pissant would argue that Stockton wasn't one of the all time great PGs? He's in the discussion for GOAT without doubt. I think his ball IQ was one of the best, but his will and toughness, peripheral vision, and all that puts him in the middle of the discussion. Great players back then. Lots of them.

He's not just a hardcase, he was a genius point guard. One of the greatest players to not win a Chamopnship

80’s and 90’s was just such a great era of basketball to watch. Loved it.

PG is probably the most loaded position in NBA history, because you don't HAVE to be 6'6, 6'8 to play it. So if you're picking a PG for your all-time starting five, you have MANY skill sets to choose from. If you need a rebounder, Oscar gets the nod. Defender? Take the Glove. Pure passer? Magic. Three pointer maestro? Steph. All around scorer? Isiah's you man. ...But if you want a dude who can do all that in top 5-10 the position, John Stockton is your guy.

If you were to combine a Viking Berserker with a Shaolin Master, you'd wind up with John Stockton

Stockton was an AMAZING player--All-time leader in BOTH steals and assists!

Stockton was a very tough guy. Not dirty. But really tough and hard working. A great passer and court general. He had talent around and great couching. That does not make him lesser.

Always love a good John Stockton video. Pound for pound, there's never been a tougher player in NBA history. His passing and steals records are great; uncontestably great...but they were just natural byproducts of what made him so great. Mentally, physically and emotionally prepared and ready for every possession on both sides of the court in every practice and every game.

Never was a fan of The NBA, but I really miss the 80's and 90's NBA! That era had more likeable NBA stars and more man's man than now.

John Stockton never rested. 16 seasons playing all 82 games.

The best pure PG in the history of NBA. He was no joke kids, these PG of today do not hold a candle for Stockton, tough as nails. You knew what he would delivery every single game, no complaining, flopping, low management bs. He was one of a kind!!

He played 82 games 16 of 19 years!!!! NBA all defensive team 5 times.

Stock was a dawg , hard nosed I remember watching the west conference back then and the conferenced was stacked. Utah had an amazing team and would have won 2 championships if it wasnt for .... MJ. Respect to Stock and the Jazz and RIP to Coach Sloan.

This is coming from a Lakers fan who watched him play in the 80’s and 90’s, he is my favorite PG of all time.

Stockton is a advanced metric monster. Going by analytics alone he is a top 10 maybe top 5 all time. Look it up. Even at age 39-40 it was ridiculous. He was top 5 in assists and steals per game at 39 and top 10 in 3 point %

Bruhhh I was a Bulls fan and I feared that man 😅😅😅 he was a killer on that court 🙏🏾🔥🔥

I love the way he plays. Smart, no fancy moves, but efficiently and fundamentally perfect. I have heard he is still playing some runs on Gonzaga Univ.

John Stockton combined so many aspects of basketball at a high level - John was an expert ball handler and dribbler, he was a great shooter, Stockton was a GREAT passer that leads the NBA in total assists for a career, and Stockton was a great defender that is the leader among all NBA in lifetime steals. Add in that Stockton played high IQ basketball and that he was so clutch and you have one of the greatest point guards and players of all-time. 💯

I remember him playing the Bulls and being fearful anytime that man had the ball

I love it when you do john Stockton episodes.

2:35 what a great camera angle for an even greater pass

He could have stopped playing 7 years earlier and still has the assists and steals records and in turn he'd have higher per game averages. Most underrated player the league has ever seen.

I was a teenager when the 98 Finals happened. I remember fearing John Stockton way more than Karl Malone. He was ice cold and would seem to hit everything. Isiah Thomas said it best when he stated that Stockton's biggest weakness was that he didn't shoot more. I totally agree, he was like a heartless machine.

Thanks for keeping the support for Stockton. He was solid his whole career and any coach or team would have been blessed to have him.

He could be a 25 to 30 points player but he was pass firts point guard. He was old school in the 80 playing like a traditional point guard of the 70.

Point GOAT. Period. Great vid, thank you for the hard work taken in bringing it to light.

Stockton is the best point guard of all time.

John Stockton was the man. Mr. Assist

Thanks for the great summary of Stockton. Surely, he ranks right up alongside Isaiah Thomas. Similar to Bird and Magic ... they elevated each other's games to the elite status. John most definitely earned his reputation. Great champion.

Magic Johnson was my favorite player, but I don't think he's the greatest PG of all time. Stockton is. All time assist leader. That's the stat that defines PG.s All time steals leader. Physical and quick enough to keep up on defense. Strong. A very strong man for such a relatively small body. Stockton is the only PG that routinely set screens on big men and laid them out. So let's compare Magic to Stockton. Both good in the clutch. That's even. Stockton, was a better defender by far. Stockton was a better assist man. Magic scored more, but John could go for 30 when he needed to. Stockton was a better shooter and because Stockton got more assists and Magic shot more, the scoring advantage to Magic doesn't mean as much. The only real advantage for Magic was rebounds and Magic was 6 foot 9. Nobody will ever agree with this because Magic was more exciting to watch and had more success, but if you put Magic on the Jazz and Stockton on the Lakers the narrative of who the GOAT PG is gets flipped upside down. I love Magic. He's fun to watch, but the results speak for themselves. John Stockton is the greatest PG of all time. He played the role and did the things that a PG should do better than anyone else.

As a Nuggets fan for 30ish years I remember seeing Stockton many times at old mcnichols area in Denver I remember booing him the entire game whenever he touched the ball....as much as I despised him....I respected him he broke my Nuggets heart more times than I can count...truly a master of the game ❤

John Stockton was a bad boy🏀🏀🏀

He was and still is the purest, best point guard we’ve ever seen . Clean passing , unselfish. Just a proper baller . And yes he could dunk but chose not to . The best

I don’t think you are out of line to say Stockton in the same breath as Isaiah. At the end of the day, Stockton was a more efficient shooter, more prolific passer and had a much longer career. Isaiah had more success at the highest level, had better peak numbers, and ended up leading a team to two titles. Most will put Isaiah on top for the titles, but they should be close I think.

Great content as always! Stockton was a stone cold! It was great to watch Basketball back in the days! Miss those days!

To me he is my favorite pg.

Thamks for highlighting John Stockton. I remember that he made games exciting. He was almost constantly doing something interesting and ingenious - - whether it be penetrating, shooting, passing, stealing or setting screens. He did so much.

I think people underrate him because of that popular video “John Stockton has no left hand”. Which is totally false.

PG Stockton SG Jordan SF Bird PF Duncan C Kareem

Never going to complain about another video featuring my all time favorite player! Thanks Sean!

Love your videos and respect for the legend that is John Stockton.

I grew up watching back in my youth. He was the definition of the point guard position. No comments are needed to describe him.

Love this content bro. One of the best collections of basketball knowledge and clips on YT. Keep it up!

John’s son once played in Karlsruhe, so I had the chance to see John when he watched on of his sons games. I was thrilled

Here’s a John and Karl story: my boss went fishing with Karl after the season ended. They drove the boss’s four wheel drive deep up a dirt mountain trail. When they were done fishing for the day, Karl tells my boss, “I’m gonna run. I’ll meet you at the bottom“. My boss says: “No, get in the car. It’s like 7 miles to the bottom. I’ll drive you” Karl says “you don’t understand. I have to run. Somewhere in the world, right now, John Stockton is running on a treadmill”

My best memories from the late 80s on was, watching John play and fight for every ball out there in every game he was in. People discrediting him shall show one player in the last 20 years playing defense like him and being a true facilitator at the same time on offense. Kudos to him, having such a stellar career, finally with the call to the Hof. The Jazz just were unlucky facing the Bulls in the finals.

I of course respected Isiah Thomas a lot back in the days, but the smartness of John Stockton made him my pick for best point guard and he definitely derserved his position in the Dream team in 1992.

Good video, arguably, Magic Johnson, out shined Stockton in that position and era, but having said that; no doubt if Stockton and Malone had a dominate center, like Kareem or Ewing, they definitely would have been NBA champions.

Stockton is on my Top 5 starting lineup. So to me he was the greatest PG of all time. He did was everything every PG should be. Great on defense and played offense perfectly for that position.

❤❤stockton,era mas duro que una piedra y el mas listo.jugaba por el equipo.ganar o ganar

Thank you Sean for all the great videos and info you share with us, 80s and 90s NBA basketball lovers. Stockton the best PG ever, very underrated. That 90s Jazz team was gold. Greetings from Uruguay. 🇺🇾🇺🇾🇺🇾

The Gen-X'ers and earlier appreciate availability, durability, reliability and consistency... Stock was all of these things. Millennials and Gen-Z appreciate showboating, style, arrogance and unpredictability - so they don't appreciate John Stockton. He was the quintessential Point Guard and Floor General.

Just think about this... Out of the 5 main stats, John Stockton holds the record of 2 of them. He's leading in total steals, which shows that he works really hard on defense, and he's leading in total assists, which shows he works hard on offense and teamplay as well. You couldn't ask for a better point guard on your team.

Thank you very much for this! I have always thought that people didn't give him the respect he truly deserved. He was an absolutely amazing player ❤❤❤❤❤❤

Stockton was fundamentally sound and made the right play time after time which is what a point guard should do. He was not flashy but knew when to pass to the right spots for the players on his team, when to take a shot and how to control the tempo for what his team was trying to do, while staying disciplined. He knew what he could do and could not and stayed within those boundaries. A lot of point guards don't know their limitations and don't understand the game like this guy did

A man among boys

Stockton is by far the best point guard to ever play the game. Magic was a better player overall, but as a point guard, Stockton is the GOAT.

I often hear comparisons putting Nash or Chris Paul over Stockton. I always say the same: this is because you didn't watch him play. For me, of course Magic is the best PG ever, just because he was an alien and he could do literally everything. But, as a pure PG, for me John Stockton has no comparison. No rival. An absolute machine. My favorite player ever. Congrats for the channel from Spain. You have a new subscriber, loved your content!

He is still awfully underrated. One of the best PGs of all time, his effectiveness in scoring and his endurance/stamina are sometimes overlooked in favor of his steal and assist records (which are no less important). No matter what part of his game you look at, he was elite at it.

In today's game, Stockton's physicality and mental toughness would intimidate almost every PG on the floor. Chris Paul is the only active PG that could even be in the same zip code when it comes to BBall IQ. In his prime years he shot well above 40% on threes, he just didn't take many. Prime Stockton would be the best PG in the game today. The dude could shut The Glove up.

The Jazz team with Hornacek was the best team ever to not win a championship. People that don't say he's athletic are sorely mistaken, the guy was like iron and as fit as a person can be, fatigue wasn't something that even registered in his body, to work like he did during a game is bordering on the absurd. Being the steals leader is a testament to hard work.

Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray the Modern day Stockton and Malone I love old school bball and it’s why I love the Denver Nuggets They play as a team and don’t hoist up 40 3s a game They live in the paint and play a fun style of ball movement with dunks and lobs they both have shades of Malone and Stockton each Jokic: has passing like Stockton and reads the game like him but he he big and tough like Malone Jamal Murray: likes to post up like Malone used to and he also is strong and sets very good screens like Malone but he has handles and mid range like Stockton

probably the today don't know him but people who watched the NBA in the '80s and '90s are arguably the best PG of all time.

John Stockton is the GOAT pound for pound!

Your closing statements are spot-on: Stockton had Malone, but pretty much only Malone. As much as I was a fan of the Mailman, one great teammate (Kareem was the best among all of the top-3 PG's, and he was one of so many legendary teammates for Magic) is not enough to win multiple titles (unless you are MJ or Hakeem). Put Stockton on the Showtime Lakers or Bad Boy Pistons and he likely would have won 2-5 titles with such stacked rosters. Sure, Magic was more positionally versatile and a better fit for the Tinseltown culture while Isiah had the killer scoring instinct, but Stockton was superior defensively (Stockton would have made the Pistons EVEN STRONGER Defensively!), had the best shooting range, and would bring out others' scoring even more (Worthy, Byron, Wilkes, Dumars, Aguirre/Dantley, and Laimbeer). Honestly, he willingly became truly pass-first because of the Jazz system and could have scored more had he been on another PG-scoring team. In the 1997 WCF against the Rockets, he showed that he could shoulder more of the shooting burden and thrived!

Thank you, good stuff

My former teammate and long time good friend played with John and the Zags… he took me to a Sonic Jazz game and we hung out afterwards a short time in the Jazz locker room to say hi… John’s hands shocked me… I have big hands for my size and can palm a basketball with easy… as we shook hands my hand disappeared into his! Again I was stunned.

Stockton was the best true point guard of all time, and the perfect one for Sloan's system. He was a general on the floor and as the video hit upon he didn't just pass people the ball he put it right where they wanted it. Any pure shooter dreams of having a pg that does that. His toughness and heart are unmatched. As for being "dirty" I prefer to say he knew how to get every edge he could. When you are shorter and slower than most of your competition you have to get an edge.

It was said if John wasn't so unselfish he would lead the NBA in scoring if he wanted. He played his position to perfection. He was the General on the floor.

Lebron trying to get all-stars and shooters as many as he can to grab those Assists but he can never break Stockton's record

I have a feeling that Stockton playing in Utah may have been an issue because he was playing for a small market team. If he had played for Detroit in the bad boy era or on the Celtics with Larry Bird, the Chief, and McHale there would have been much more exposure to the rest of the country. The epitome of a selfless, hardworking team player who didn’t make mistakes and played hard at both ends of the floor. A mirror image of his coach, Jerry Sloan.

THE PASTY GANGSTA 😂

I have an old John Stockton Basketball Camp t-shirt. I wish it still fit me 🥴

Awesome content as usual

He would pull up on the shoulder and look into the future. No one has had better court vision. He could steal and pass the ball as good as anyone to do it and he had great shooting efficiency. In all seriousness, he is the Robin Hood of the NBA.

The Jazz would not been as successful as they were without John. Enjoyed watching how clever he was, he always got to his intended area.

John Stockton is the GOAT. Smartest guy to ever play basketball. Incredible.

Love this channel.

Whats crazy is Greg Anthony won an NCAA title, Played in the NBA, Coached, Raised a Son that plays in the NBA been around the game for 40yrs and testifies to Stocktons greatness... And some kid watching a 3 min Y.T clip Wont get it because he's not tatted up euro stepping and hitting the griddy after ever layup.

I’ll often have nights of insomnia where no matter what I try, it’s like my brain just won’t shut down. On those nights I often look up the stats of random NBA players I followed when I (40) was younger. The one stat that always stands out to me: games played. It’s kind of pathetic to me that a 6’1, 170ish lbs. point guard playing in a remarkably physical era missed so few games. Meanwhile, some of the biggest stars today are looking to reach 60 games in an 82-game season. It’s a stark reminder of how much things have changed.

John was a beast!! I remember those finals against the Bulls - man how I hated him passing the ball ahahah but he was so good...and just to remind y'all - Stockton made it to the real dream team in Barcelona 92 Olympics game. There were no other and never will be a better team as the first Dream Team. In my opinion of course. God Bless y'all

fundamentals go unnoticed by fans but win games for coaches

Sean, now you gotta feature Mark Price.

John Stockton was the main reason Karl Malone got so high up in the all-time scorers list and Karl Malone was the main reason John Stockton got so high up in the all-time assist list. They both have a big part is making the 90's such an exciting era for NBA fans.

To me John Stockton was the greatest PG of all time when we talk about every technical aspect and his numbers show it. The only reason I rank Magic higher is the overall impact he made on the NBA and really basketball in general.

It wasn't just the assists and steals that made him great, he was also the clutch player for the Jazz. He didn't shoot as often but with the game on the line you wanted him taking the shot rather than Malone. Even Karl would probably admit that. It's fitting he was the one that hit that bomb of a last second three against the Rockets to send them to their first finals in 1997.

It, to me, is intriguing that, when ranking point guards, John is in the discussion but ultimately discounted because those ranked above him do non-point guard things better (or, at least, are subjectively considered to do them better). If you want your point guard to be the floor general - you want John Stockton. There is a reason Dwight Eisenhower was Supreme Commander for Project Overlord instead of Montgomery or Patton.

🏀 John Stockton made everyone who he played with better and more effective, and that's not even debatable 🏀

He still made the finals two years in a row so he's pretty impressive - not many dous do that even if they did win one championship. It's just super crazy beyond all things that the two best point guards grew up being friends. It's just that it's not even one friend makes it and two making it is very improbable yet then to be the best at a position and Hall of Fame guys is quite the story to under sell it. Just wow.😅

I may be biased just a bit as a lifelong jazz fan, but I think Stockton is clearly in the top 3 guards all time and I personally have him essentially tied with Magic. Here’s my hot take (yeah I’ll proudly take some heat for this). I think that Malone has a few key choke moments that cost John a ring. As Pippen infamously said “The mailman doesn’t deliver on Sunday” if Stockton had played for a big market team, people would remember him more. Small market teams got even less exposure before the internet as well.