John Houston Stockton is born on the 26th of March 1962 in Spokane, Washington. He has a brother, Steve, and a sister, Leanne who coaches the Utah Starzz. Stockton is married with Nada Stockton and has two daughters, Lindsay and Laura and four sons, Houston, Michael, David and Samuel. He is a family man, bought a house next to his parents, and he loves to be home. He went to school at Gonzaga University. He averaged 7.2 assists and 20.9 points in his last year. He played as often as possible and became tougher and tougher every time he played with his brother on the driveway. He was so good that he entered the NBA draft, something that would change his live forever.
The Utah Jazz
With the sixteenth pick the Utah Jazz select ��.. John Stockton from Gonzaga University. Everyone was surprised and many thought Stockton was not good enough to play in the NBA. Some talked about the wasted pick of the Jazz. Stockton averaged 5.6 points as back up for Rickey Green. The Utah Jazz, with Mark �the human mountain� Eaton, Thurl Bailey, Griffith, Dantley and Rickey Green, came in the 2nd round of the playoffs before they lost to the Nuggets. Stockton averaged 6.8 points and 4.3 assists in the playoffs. He got more playing time and made sure everybody noticed him. He played 23.6 minutes and averaged 7.7 points and 7.4 assists while Green averaged 11.7 points and 5.1 assists. The Jazz had drafted Karl �the mailman� Malone and was a rookie that year. Malone started in the 86/87 season and averaged 21.7 ppg (points per game). Stockton got 22.7 minutes of playing time and averaged 8.2 assists per game. Dantley was traded which was a loss for the team and they were knocked out in the first round. A disappointing season.
Stockton As A Starter
While Malone averaged a great 27.7 ppg it was John Stockton who was in the spotlight. The point guard averaged 13.8 assists per game and broke the record for most assists in one season, he had 1128 which was five more then the previous record set by Isiah Thomas, and he also had 14.7 ppg while shooting 574% from the field. And if that wasn�t enough he had 2.95 steals per game. With Malone he was selected for the All NBA second team. In 11 playoff games he averaged 19.5 ppg and 14.8 apg (assists per game). He dished out 24 assists in one game of the second round of the playoffs tying Magic Johnson�s record. The next year he played in the NBA All-Star game and he made 17 points and 11 assists. He became second in the voting for MVP, most valuable player, behind Karl Malone. Stockton averaged 13.8 asp and 3.1 spg (steals per game) while shooting 538% from the field. He also averaged 17.1 points. A great accomplishment. He was voted in the All-NBA second team and the NBA All-Defensive second team. The nr.1 of the Midwest Division lost in the first round against the Golden State Warriors despite a great performance from Stockton, who averaged 27.3 ppg and 13.7 apg. In the middle of that season Jerry Sloan became head coach replacing Frank Layden, who became the team�s president. Sloan was a professional player with the Bulls and his jersey number is retired. John Stockton missed 4 games in ten seasons and this was the season he missed all four. Nevertheless they got the second best record and advanced to the playoffs. But no further flights need to be booked because in the first round they lost against the Suns. The 90/91 season was confusing because not only Karl Malone played outstanding but the newly acquired Jeff Malone made a great performance too. This time Stockton made it past the Suns but he again got a long vacation because the Trailblazers only needed five games to make the Jazz go home. They said bye to the Salt Palace and the Jazz made their debut in the Delta Center with a loss against the Supersonics. Once again the Trailblazers made Utah book an early flight defeating the Jazz in the Western Conference Finals.
The Dream Team
With the best players available, Jordan, Magic Johnson and Bird are three of them, Malone and Stockton went to Barcelona playing in the so called �Dream Team� They won the gold medal in the Olympic Games in Barcelona. The Season was a nightmare for the Jazz, they got knocked out in the first round, but Stockton and Malone had a great season. In the Delta Center the two made a stunning appearance in the all-star match and they shared MVP honours. It was a great match in which the West won with 135-132 in overtime. Malone had 28 points and 10 rebounds while Stockton scored 9 points and dished out 15 assists. A big trade was made when Jeff Malone was traded for Jeff Hornacek. Stockton was voted into the All-NBA first team for the first time in his career and he joined Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson when he got more than 9000 assists. With Bob Cousy he was the only player who has led the NBA in assists seven consecutive years. But despite the trade and Stockton marvellous performances the Jazz didn�t get in the NBA finals. In the Western Conference Finals they lost against �The Dream� (Hakeem Olajuwon) and his Rockets. The 94/95 season was a year where many players broke many records. But the greatest record which fell was the one Magic Johnson held. On 1 February John Stockton passed the 9921 assists Magic Johnson had made in his career to become the man with the most assists ever. He also passed the 10000 mark before the end of the season. Because of the injury Spencer had, he was the starting center, the Jazz had nothing to put against �The Dream� and the Jazz lost in the first round against the Rockets. The next year Stockton broke the record of Maurice Cheeks for the most steals ever. Cheeks made 2310 steals in his career which Stockton passed. Stockton also passed the record of Bob Cousy who led the NBA in assists for eight consecutive seasons. Stockton led the NBA this year to make it nine. The Jazz had a great season but only got to the WCF (Western Conference Finals) where they lost in game 7 against the Supersonics.
The NBA Finals
The Jazz squad was a great one. With the three musketeers, Hornacek, Stockton and Malone, and some great players, Russell for example, they shot themselves towards a 64-18 win/loss record, the best in the history of the team. The Playoffs came and the Jazz worked themselves towards the WCF where they met the Rockets with �The Dream� and Charles Barkley. In game six Stockton made 25 points. His last three points was a three pointer over Barkley to put the final score on the scoreboard. This great buzzer beater got the Jazz into the NBA finals winning with a 3-point difference. They would face the mighty Bulls with Rodman, Pippen and his royal airness Michael Jordan. The Jazz were good, but the Bulls won in six games. In this season Stockton didn�t led the NBA for the 10th consecutive time in Assists but the honour went to Mark Jackson. Stockton missed 18 matches in the 97/98 season because he went under the knife to repair torn cartilege in his left knee. Without Stockton the Jazz made a dramatic start with a 5-6 win/loss record and they got a 11/7 win/loss record without Stockton. In the regular season they swept the Bulls, the only team in 3 seasons to do that but when they faced them in the finals Jordan stood up. In the sixth game Stockton made a great three pointer to give the Jazz a 86-83 lead in the final minute. But because of two great baskets from Jordan the Jazz lost with 87-86.
Old, but not broken
Stockton proved his value once more when he made a buzzer beater against the Kings in the second round of the playoffs. The Kings led the game and the series (2-1) but because of the shot Utah won the match and eventually the series. But in the second round they lost against the Trailblazers. In the 99/00 season Stockton became the 65th player to score 16000 points. He also became the first player to dish out more than 13500 assists and that while he was only playing 29.7 minutes per game. But Utah got a d�j� vu feeling when they got knocked out in the second round against the Trailblazers. This was Hornaceks last season. One of the best players said goodbye and went to his beloved family, something that he always wanted. This season (00/01) the Jazz lost in the first round against the Mavs despite Stocktons first triple double ever. On the age of 39 he averaged 11.4 ppg, 8.7 apg and shot 504% from the field including 462% three pointers. He became the first player to dish out 14000 assists, still counting. He recorded his 17000 point this season. He passed John Havlicek for the record of most games played with one team. And he is ready to play even more season. He signed a 2-year contract and that would mean that he will play at the age of 41. Stockton is back and ready to go.
