Even at 38, Stockton Going Strong

Long after John Stockton dishes out his final assist or swipes his last steal, he’ll surely be honored with a monument outside the Delta Center.

After all, the Utah Jazz point guard makes history almost every time he flips a ball to Karl Malone on the pick-and-roll or squirms out of a cluttered lane to find Jeff Hornacek for an open 3-pointer.

With every assist and steal, the 38-year-old Stockton extends NBA records in both categories. He often makes his work seem routine and insists what he’s doing is nothing special.

“Honestly, I don’t think about it,” Stockton said. “I enjoy the playing part. I just look forward to the challenges and then I don’t put a lot of thought into the rest of it.”

It’s vintage Stockton. Without the flash and swagger of many younger players, he has quietly rekindled his game after slipping during last year’s lockout-shortened season.

In 1998-99, Stockton averaged 11.1 points a game, down from 14.4 two seasons earlier. After leading the NBA in assists every year from 1987-88 to 1995-96, his average dropped from 10.5 in 1997 to 7.5 last season.

Stockton has been healthier for his 16th NBA season, and it shows.

After offseason elbow surgery, a topic he regularly dismissed in preseason interviews, Stockton was averaging 12.3 points and 8.6 assists a game going into the weekend.

To the Jazz, it’s just another day at the office.

“I’m never amazed by what John does,” Malone said. “In fact, I think I’m spoiled by it. John does what he does every night because he always gets ready to play every night.”

When Stockton pushes the ball upcourt, he’s intense and extremely focused. His eyes dart in all directions, surveying the recoiling defenders and sizing up the chance for a fastbreak basket.

Sometimes Stockton zips a no-look bounce pass for a layup, leaving fans ogling in awe. More often, he starts the Jazz offense by curling off a pick, then tossing the ball to Malone when the defense collapses on him.

The two have mastered the play, making “Stockon-to-Malone” synonymous with “pick-and-roll.” It epitomizes Stockton: short on glitz but with a meticulous efficiency that commands opponents’ respect.

One day after his 38th birthday last month, Stockton had 16 points, 14 assists and zero turnovers in 37 minutes in a loss to Dallas.

“It’s a shame more and more young players aren’t paying attention to him,” said Phoenix coach Scott Skiles, a former NBA point guard who’s two years younger than Stockton. “They could learn a lot. Instead of trying to be so fancy, they could be more efficient.”

Opposing fans might mock Stockton’s midthigh shorts, but he often ends up burning their teams with precision passes and his keen sense of court awareness.

“No matter how you try to play him, he’s going to find a way to wear you down,” Hornacek said. “He knows the little things to do and he’s proved himself night in and night out for the last 16 years.”

That consistency carries over to the interview room. Over the years, Stockton has been extremely cautious in what he tells reporters, especially when the topic isn’t the Jazz or that night’s game.

When his alma mater, Gonzaga, made a run in last month’s NCAA tournament, Stockton politely but repeatedly refused to discuss the Bulldogs for a television crew. He said he didn’t want to put undue pressure on the team.

“He’s an unusual guy when it comes to talking about some things,” Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said.

Another topic that doesn’t sit well with Stockton is Stockton himself. Ask about the secret to Utah’s decade of success and he credits Sloan, owner Larry Miller, Malone and other teammates.

But Stockton has played a huge role, too, and not just in making Utah a perennial playoff team.

Entering the weekend, his NBA career assists record was up to 13,753 and his steals record stood at 2,835.

When pressed, Stockton insists he’s as awed as anyone by his career.

“I couldn’t have foreseen this,” he said. “As far ahead as I ever looked was trying to make the team I was on, and I usually thought that was a long shot at best. Everything has been gravy.”

Growing up in Spokane, Wash., Stockton followed the powerful Seattle SuperSonics teams of the late 1970s. He recalled cheering for Gus Johnson, Jack Sikma and Dennis Johnson.

Still, that wasn’t the inspiration for his NBA dream.

“My heroes were more in high school, my brother and even a teammate of mine who was way ahead of the rest of us,” Stockton said. “Those guys, I looked up to and I wanted to be as good.”

Now it’s Stockton who sets the standard.

“He’s one of the best point guards ever,” Golden State’s Mookie Blaylock said. “I look up to his game. He does so much for his team, not even by trying to score. He does all the little things.”