Shytime : Utah’s John Stockton Goes About His Job Quietly, Playing Every Day and Piling Up a Record in Assists

Utah Jazz guard John Stockton is as cold as a Utah winter night when he’s on the court.

While his teammates preen and pose after making good plays, Stockton’s dour expression rarely changes.

But Stockton lost his composure after making two shots in the final 16 seconds of a come-from-behind victory over the Miami Heat last month. After drilling a three-point basket with 16 seconds left to tie the score, Stockton leaped into the arms of teammate Adam Keefe after making the game-winning shot at the buzzer.

“I don’t think he’s unemotional,” Keefe said of Stockton. “I think he’s very stoic. He tries to eliminate the ups and downs of emotional play. He’s much better when he’s level throughout.”

The emotional outburst was totally out of character for Stockton.

“You can’t afford to hop around and act like a kid when you have to get back on defense and worry about the other parts of the game,” Stockton said. “But at the end when the buzzer sounds, you have the luxury of hopping around and looking foolish for a while.”

Stockton, who surpassed Laker guard Magic Johnson as the NBA’s all-time assist leader last season, has made many opponents look foolish during his 12-year NBA career.

Stockton and Johnson, teammates on the 1992 Olympic basketball team, meet tonight for the first time since Johnson’s abrupt retirement in 1991 when the Jazz play the Lakers at the Forum.

“They both make their teammates much better when they’re out on the court,” Keefe said. “They’re both unselfish. The difference is that Magic looks to score more and he presents more matchup problems because of his size.”

“John Stockton is the Joe Montana of basketball,” said Jazz President Frank Layden, who coached Stockton for the first four years of his NBA career. “One of the things he doesn’t get enough credit for is his tremendous durability. He never misses a game. In the day of the pampered athlete, he still likes to play basketball. He has fun playing basketball. I think that’s his greatest asset, his attitude.”

Stockton, who has played in 490 consecutive games, the fourth longest streak in the league, has missed only four games as a pro, playing in 942 of a possible 946 games. His 490 consecutive games are all in a starting role, which is the league’s longest streak of consecutive games started.

Selected to play in next Sunday’s All-Star game for the eighth consecutive season, Stockton came into the league a year before Utah forward Karl Malone, who will play in his ninth consecutive All-Star game.

“They go together like Montana and Jerry Rice or Steve Young and Jerry Rice,” Layden said. “They’ve certainly helped each other and as they have played together they’ve gotten better with each other. But if it hadn’t been Karl, it might have been [Patrick] Ewing. Both of them are great players, but they do go well together.”

Stockton said he has learned a lot from Johnson.

“When you watch a guy like him you’d better learn something,” Stockton said. “You’d be a foolish man to not take advantage of what you can learn from a player like him. I just enjoy talking to him. I love talking basketball with him. I got some real insight as to the way he sees the game [during the 1992 Games]. He loves the game, and I admire him for that.”

What did Magic teach Stockton?

“I won’t tell about it,” Stockton said.

Johnson, who has moved to power forward, doesn’t think he’ll have a chance to overtake Stockton for the NBA assist record because he doesn’t handle the ball as much as Stockton. Stockton, who has won eight consecutive NBA assist titles, is averaging a league-high 11.3 assists this season and has a career total of 10,891, an average of 11.6 per game.

“I’m not worried about that right now,” Johnson said when asked about catching Stockton. “I think that John is going to have many more opportunities, I’m happy to be going down low and doing my thing down there.”

Stockton is chasing another record. He needs 18 steals to surpass Maurice Cheeks for the all-time NBA mark of 2,310.

“If you start chasing around trying to get steals for your own benefit then you really put your defense at a disadvantage,” Stockton said. “It’s not a big thing for me; if it happens, great.”

Stockton downplayed his rivalry with Johnson.

“Even if he were playing the point, you play the team and not him,” Stockton said.

Jazz broadcaster Hot Rod Hundley, a former Laker, said it’s unfair to compare Stockton to Johnson.

“Magic is one of the greatest players of all time and will be recognized as such,” Hundley said. “As a point guard he’s unbelievable at 6-9, but Stockton is a true point guard. Everybody in this league would love to play with Stockton. Guys who score want to play with Stockton. He’ll get them the ball.

“Magic is Magic. He runs all over the floor and plays all five positions in every game. In his first game he was at power forward and he ends up taking the ball down the floor and playing guard again. He just can’t get away from it.”

“Magic certainly influenced a lot of people,” Layden said. “Magic has fun playing, and I think John Stockton has fun playing. And both of them think it’s better to giveth than to receive. And I don’t think either of them are concerned about individual stats. I don’t think John cares about stealing the ball or getting assists or how many points he has. I think he cares about winning, and that’s the thing that separates the great players, whether it’s Magic or Larry Bird or Michael Jordan or Doctor J.

“You know what’s funny? Right now I have no idea how many points Magic Johnson has averaged for his career. You could tell me it was 25, or you could tell me it was 15. I have no idea at all. All I know is that he won championships and that he won games. And I think John thinks that way. And that’s the secret to being great.

“I don’t think John was overshadowed by Magic. Magic might have been the greatest player who ever lived. If anything, Magic brought attention to playing point guard. If anything, John might have been hurt by playing in Utah.

“If John had been the point guard in L.A. or New York, maybe things would have been different. If Magic Johnson had been the point guard for Utah, maybe you wouldn’t have heard that much about him.”

Clipper Coach Bill Fitch says Stockton has impeccable timing.

“He’s a master of the pass,” Fitch said. “His timing is fantastic. When you watch films of him, he delivers the basketball right when he should. A lot of guys see the open man and get them the basketball, but they might be a little late. He’s a master of timing. He creates shots for guys with his passes.”

A small-town boy who was raised in Spokane, Wash., and played college ball at Gonzaga, Stockton seems a perfect fit for the Jazz, who play in the NBA’s smallest market.

“He’s the quintessential Utah poster boy,” Clipper center Brian Williams said of Stockton. “If they had a nationwide search, they couldn’t come up with a better person.”

Uncomfortable with being a celebrity, Stockton shuns the limelight. He hates doing interviews so much that he sometimes hides in the training room until reporters have departed.

“I don’t think he plays for recognition,” Jazz Coach Jerry Sloan said. “It doesn’t matter to him who gets the recognition. He just loves to play basketball. He’s really refreshing to be around. It’s a job to him and he comes in and does his job and goes home.”

Stockton said he feels at home with the Jazz.

“I love playing here,” Stockton said. “It’s the perfect environment for me. I guess I’d rather be comfortable and play well because I’m comfortable than to get recognition and play someplace where I wouldn’t be comfortable and wouldn’t enjoy myself.”

Stockton is anything but trendy.

While most NBA players wear long shorts because they’re fashionable, Stockton’s shorts may be the shortest in the NBA.

“I just wouldn’t feel comfortable with them down by my knees like some guys like,” Stockton said. “Just because everybody else does something isn’t a good enough reason to do anything. My dad taught me that.”

The Jazz had one winning season in 10 years before Stockton arrived in 1984. However, they’ve had 11 consecutive winning seasons with Stockton, including last-season’s 60-22 mark, best in franchise history.

“I think he’s given us a mental toughness that let us be in games we shouldn’t have been in,” Jazz owner Larry H. Miller said. “He just says, ‘I’m not letting us lose,’ and he’ll go to the basket and beat somebody he shouldn’t. I’ve seen him do it so many times that I take him for granted. But in the end I think his greatness is his consistency.”

Stockton said playing with Malone has helped his career.

“I’d hate to think what my career would have been like if he hadn’t been here,” Stockton said.

Malone agreed.

“Maybe we benefited a lot from each other,” Malone said. “We came to the same situation and tried to make the most of it.

“John makes everybody better. He looks forward to getting everybody else involved. We definitely take him for granted. We expect a good game out of him every game.”

And they usually get one.