John Houston Stockton (born March 26, 1962) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. Regarded as one of the greatest point guards, players and passers of all time, he spent his entire NBA career (1984–2003) with the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

, and the team made the playoffs in each of his 19 seasons. In 1997 and 1998, together with his longtime teammate

Karl Malone Karl Anthony Malone (born July 24, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Mailman", he is considered one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history. Malone spen ...

, Stockton led the Jazz to the franchise's only two

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

appearances, both of which were lost to the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

. Stockton was a ten-time

NBA All-Star The National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game is an annual exhibition basketball game. It is the main event of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Originally, the All-Star Game featured a conference-based format, featuring a team composed of al ...

and holds the NBA records for most career assists and steals by wide margins. He was inducted into the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

in 2009 for his individual career, and again in 2010 as a member of the 1992 United States Olympic basketball team. In 1996, he was named one of the

50 greatest players in NBA history The 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, also referred to as NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team, were chosen in 1996 to honor the 50th anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was the third anniversary team ...

. In October 2021, Stockton was again honored as one of the league’s greatest players of all-time by being named to the

NBA 75th Anniversary Team The NBA 75th Anniversary Team, also referred to as the NBA 75, was chosen in 2021 to honor the 75th anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was the fourth and most recent anniversary team in the league. S ...

.nba.com/75

Early years

Born in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...

, to Clementine () and Jack Stockton. He attended grade school at St. Aloysius and moved on to high school at Gonzaga Prep and graduated in 1980, after breaking the city record for points scored in a single basketball season.

College career

After considering offers from

Don Monson Donald Lloyd Monson (born April 11, 1933) is a former college basketball head coach and the father of head coach Dan Monson. He was a high school head coach for 18 seasons and college head coach for 14 seasons: five at Idaho and nine at Oregon. ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

and

Mike Montgomery Michael John Montgomery (born February 27, 1947) is a retired American basketball coach. He is best known for his 18-year tenure at Stanford (1986–2004), where he led the program to 12 NCAA Tournaments, including a Final Four appearance in 199 ...

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

, both in the

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference (BSC) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the eigh ...

Stockton decided to stay in Spokane and play

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for

Dan Fitzgerald Daniel John Fitzgerald (March 3, 1942 – January 19, 2010) was an American college basketball coach and athletic director at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. Fitzgerald was the head coach at Gonzaga for 15 seasons between 1978 and 1997 ...

Gonzaga University Gonzaga University (GU) () is a private Jesuit university in Spokane, Washington. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Founded in 1887 by Joseph Cataldo, an Italian-born priest and Jesuit missionary, the univ ...

. He became the third generation in his family at GU; grandfather Houston Stockton was a well-known football player for the Bulldogs in the 1920s. Fitzgerald was also the athletic director; he stepped away from coaching for four years after Stockton's freshman year and promoted assistant Jay Hillock to head coach. During his senior year for the

Bulldogs The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

, Stockton averaged 20.9 points per game shooting 57% from the field. The Zags posted a 17–11 record, their best in 17 years, and Stockton led the

West Coast Athletic Conference The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting of ...

in scoring, assists, and steals. For his performance, he was named WCAC Player of the Year, the first-ever Gonzaga player to earn the award. He was one of 74 college players invited to the spring tryouts for the 1984 U.S. Olympic team and coached by

Bob Knight Robert Montgomery Knight (born October 25, 1940) is an American former basketball coach. Nicknamed "the General", Knight won 902 NCAA Division I men's college basketball games, a record at the time of his retirement, and currently fourth all-ti ...

. Stockton made the initial cut in April to the final 20, but was one of four released in May (with

Charles Barkley Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst on NBA on TNT, TNT. Nicknamed "Sir Charles", "Chuck", and "the Round Mound of Rebound", Barkley played 16 seasons ...

Terry Porter Terry Porter (born April 8, 1963) is an American former college basketball coach and former player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was most recently the head men's basketball coach at the University of Portland. A native of Wis ...

, and Maurice Martin) in the penultimate cut to 16 players. Though not selected, the experience led him to meet his future teammate and friend,

Professional career

Utah Jazz (1984–2003)

In June 1984, Stockton was selected by the

in the first round of the

1984 NBA draft The 1984 NBA draft was the 37th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was held at the Felt Forum at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, on June 19, 1984, before the 1984–85 season. The draft is generally c ...

with the 16th overall pick. Though he was relatively unknown during his college career, his stock rose significantly in the months before the draft. Nevertheless, the announcement of his selection to the thousands of Jazz fans gathered at the

Salt Palace The Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center, more commonly known as the Salt Palace, is a convention center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Named after Utah's 11th governor, Calvin L. Rampton, the name "Salt Palace" was previously used by two ...

on draft day was met with a stunned silence. On November 10, 1984, Stockton had his highest scoring game as a rookie, with 19 points in only 19 minutes of playing time, during a loss against the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

. Stockton became the starting point guard for the Jazz in the 1987–88 season. In 1988–89, he played in his first All-Star Game, and led the NBA in assists per game for the first of nine consecutive seasons. On January 15, 1991, Stockton scored 20 points and dished out a career-high and franchise-record 28 assists in a 124–102 home win against the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

. On February 12, Stockton nearly recorded a triple-double after putting up 19 points, 11 assists, and 9 steals in a 113–92 win over the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

. In 1992, Stockton and the Jazz reached the Western Conference Finals for the first time however they were defeated by the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

in six games. Along with Malone, Stockton was named co-

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

of the All-Star Game in 1993 and the game was held in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

. During the 1994-95 season, Stockton achieved many milestones. On February 1, 1995, he passed Magic Johnson (who had 9,921 assists) as the NBA's all-time leader in assists as he dished out 16 assists in a 129-98 victory over the visiting

. His 16 assists gave him 9,937 assists for his career at that time. Magic Johnson, in an interview, said to Stockton, "John, from one assist man to another, you are the greatest team leader I have ever played against." Seventeen days later, Stockton dished out 15 assists in a 108-98 victory over the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

. His 15 assists gave him a career total of 10,008 assists, the first ever player to have dished out 10,000 assists in his career. On March 25, Stockton just became the second player in NBA history to have recorded 2,000 steals after recording 6 steals in a 117-110 loss to the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

. Stockton and the Jazz reached the Conference Finals again in 1994 and 1996, but lost to the

and the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...

, respectively. John Stockton Lipofskydotcom-32245

Utah set a franchise record and led the Western Conference with 64 wins in the 1996–97 season. The team again reached the Western Conference Finals. In Game Six of the Conference Finals, Stockton scored 25 points, dished out 13 assists, and made a buzzer-beating, game-winning three-point shot over the Rockets'

to send the Jazz to the first of two consecutive

appearances. Stockton's game-winner became known as "The Shot". In Game 3 of the 1997 NBA Finals, Stockton recorded 17 points, 7 rebounds and 12 assists in their first Finals' win in franchise history. The Jazz were defeated by the

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...

-led

in six games in the Finals. Stockton missed the first 18 games of the 1997–98 season with a knee injury, but the Jazz returned to the NBA Finals and again faced the Bulls. In

Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals was a professional basketball game that was played on June 14, 1998 between the visiting Chicago Bulls and the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center, now known as Vivint Arena, in Salt Lake City, Utah. The game is widely cit ...

, Stockton made a three-pointer with 41.9 seconds left to give the Jazz a lead, but Bulls guard

made two field goals to put his team ahead 87–86. Stockton missed a three-point attempt with 5.2 seconds left and said in a post-game interview that he felt confident the shot would go in. The Bulls again defeated the Jazz in six games. The Jazz made the NBA playoffs every season during Stockton's 19-year NBA career.

Retirement

On May 2, 2003, Stockton announced his retirement with a released statement instead of the customary news conference. The Jazz later held a retirement ceremony for him, in which Salt Lake City renamed the street in front of the venue then known as Delta Center (now

Vivint Arena Vivint Arena (stylized as vivint arena), formerly known as Delta Center, EnergySolutions Arena and Vivint Smart Home Arena, is an indoor arena located in Salt Lake City, Utah. The arena serves as the home venue for the National Basketball Assoc ...

), where the Jazz play, John Stockton Drive. Stockton would later declare that despite being still content with the game and how well he was playing, his growing family made him feel that "sitting in the hotel room waiting for games wasn't making up for what I was missing at home." Stockton's number 12 jersey was retired by the Jazz during a game on November 22, 2004. A statue of Stockton can be seen in front of Vivint Arena; an accompanying statue of Karl Malone was placed nearby on March 23, 2006. The Malone and Stockton statues stand on a bronze plaque commemorating their achievements together. Stockton was inducted into the

in 2009. Stockton was also inducted into the Hall of Fame along with the rest of the 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team in 2010.

Player profile

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 The litre (international spelling) or liter (American English spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metre (m3) ...

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 suggested by a poll ''Sports Illustrated'' conducted in 1997 where he was voted as the second dirtiest player in the league behind

Dennis Rodman Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. Known for his fierce defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best rebounding ...

. His patented "short

shorts Shorts are a garment worn over the human pelvis, pelvic area, circling the waist and splitting to cover the upper part of the legs, sometimes extending down to the knees but not covering the entire length of the leg. They are called "shorts" b ...

" 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 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 Vivint Arena (stylized as vivint arena), formerly known as Delta Center, EnergySolutions Arena and Vivint Smart Home Arena, is an indoor arena located in Salt Lake City, Utah. The arena serves as the home venue for the National Basketball Ass ...

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 The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

. 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. 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. John Stockton 1988-89

Stockton was selected to the

All-NBA First Team The All-NBA Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor bestowed on the best players in the league following every NBA season. The voting is conducted by a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. The team has been sel ...

twice, the

All-NBA Second Team The All-NBA Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor bestowed on the best players in the league following every NBA season. The voting is conducted by a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. The team has been sele ...

six times, the

All-NBA Third Team The All-NBA Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor bestowed on the best players in the league following every NBA season. The voting is conducted by a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. The team has been sele ...

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 The 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, also referred to as NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team, were chosen in 1996 to honor the 50th anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was the third anniversary team ...

in 1996. On May 11, 2006,

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

.com named Stockton the fourth best

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

of all time. In October 2021, Stockton was again honored as one of the league’s greatest players of all-time by being named to the

In 1999, ''Sports Illustrated'' named Stockton as the best athlete to come out of the state of Washington in the 20th century.

Awards and Achievements

Regular Season

* Only player in NBA history to record multiple games with at least 25 assists made. (3) * One of two players in NBA history to lead the league in steals and assists in the same season. (2) ** Includes

Chris Paul Christopher Emmanuel Paul (born May 6, 1985), nicknamed "CP3" and “The Point God”, is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Paul is widely regarded as one o ...

(achieved this 3 times) * 1st place all-time in career assists with 15,806. * 1st place all-time in career steals with 3,265. * 1st place all-time for games with at least 1 assist made with 1,501. * 1st place all-time for games with at least 2 assists made with 1,494. * 1st place all-time for games with at least 3 assists made with 1,472. * 1st place all-time for games with at least 4 assists made with 1,435 * 1st place all-time for games with at least 5 assists made with 1,382. * 1st place all-time for games with at least 6 assists made with 1,311. * 1st place all-time for games with at least 7 assists made with 1,217. * 1st place all-time for games with at least 8 assists made with 1,093 * 1st place all-time for games with at least 9 assists made with 996. * 1st place all-time for games with at least 10 assists made with 863. * 1st place all-time for games with at least 11 assists made with 724. * 1st place all-time for games with at least 12 assists made with 590. * 1st place all-time for games with at least 13 assists made with 469. * 1st place all-time for games with at least 14 assists made with 379. * 1st place all-time for games with at least 15 assists made with 293. * 1st place all-time for games with at least 16 assists made with 210. * 1st place all-time for games with at least 17 assists made with 139. * 1st place all-time for games with at least 18 assists made with 91. * 1st place all-time for games with at least 19 assists made with 60. * 1st place all-time for games with at least 20 assists made with 34. * 1st place all-time for games with at least 21 assists made with 21. * 1st place all-time for games with at least 22 assists made with 11. * 1st place all-time for games with at least 23 assists made with 8. * 1st place all-time for games with at least 24 assists made with 4. * 1st place all-time for games with at least 25 assists made with 3. * 1st place all-time for most seasons leading the league in assists made with 9. * 1st place all-time for games with at least 2 steals with 911. * 1st place all-time for games with at least 3 steals with 556. * 1st place all time for games with at least 4 steals with 292. * 1st place all time for games with at least 6 steals with 62.

International play

Stockton, along with other NBA stars, played on the

basketball team Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

in that year's

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, Spain. The 1992 team was the first U.S. Olympic squad to feature NBA players. The team became known as the Dream Team; the

called it "the greatest collection of basketball talent on the planet". Stockton also played on the 1996 U.S. men's Olympic basketball team. Stockton won gold medals with both the 1992 and 1996 teams.

Post-retirement activities

Following his retirement, Stockton moved back to his hometown Spokane. He started coaching in youth teams, being "an assistant on seven or eight teams at once" in 2003. The Jazz also invited Stockton to train both

Deron Williams Deron Michael Williams ( ; born June 26, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Illinois Fighting Illini before being drafted third overall in the 2005 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz. A thre ...

and

Trey Burke Alfonso Clark "Trey" Burke III (born November 12, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Stockton Kings of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines where in the 2012–13 season, he earn ...

. Stockton also became involved in various businesses including construction projects. In 2013, Stockton released an autobiography entitled ''Assisted''. The book was written with the assistance of his junior high school coach, Kerry L. Pickett.

wrote the foreword. Stockton was on the Jazz's long list of coaching candidates to replace

Tyrone Corbin Tyrone Kennedy Corbin (born December 31, 1962) is an American former basketball player and assistant coach for the Charlotte Hornets. He was first appointed the assistant coach of the Phoenix Suns, then was named the Utah Jazz’s head coach, on Fe ...

before the selection of

Quin Snyder Quin Price Snyder (born October 30, 1966) is an American basketball coach who most recently served as the head coach for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After being named a McDonald's All American as a high school pla ...

. On October 27, 2015, Stockton joined

Montana State University Montana State University (MSU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana. It is the state's largest university. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's degrees in 6 ...

's women's basketball program as an assistant coach to replace Kellee Barney. Barney left the program to pursue a career in business, and Stockton had previously coached four of the players on the MSU women's team when they played for teams in

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...

leagues. In 2021, Stockton appeared in a video series titled "V-Revealed, COVID Edition," raising doubt about the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

pandemic and warning against vaccines. Stockton said he had done a "significant amount of research" and determined, "This isn't a virus cheating us of these opportunities. It's the guys making decisions saying, 'No, no, we're too scared. We're going to shut everything down. He made the claim that "hundreds" of athletes had died due to receiving a COVID vaccine, which was found by

PolitiFact PolitiFact.com is an American nonprofit project operated by the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida, with offices there and in Washington, D.C. It began in 2007 as a project of the ''Tampa Bay Times'' (then the ''St. Petersburg Times'' ...

to be a false statement. In January 2022, Gonzaga suspended his season tickets because of his refusal to comply with the university's mask mandate.

Personal life

Hust Stockton John Houston Stockton (September 23, 1901 – April 27, 1967) was a professional football player, a back in the late 1920s in the National Football League. He played with the Frankford Yellow Jackets from 1925 until 1928, and was a member of Yel ...

, Stockton's grandfather (born John Houston Stockton) played professional football for the

Frankford Yellow Jackets The Frankford Yellow Jackets were a professional American football team, part of the National Football League from 1924 to 1931, although its origin dates back to as early as 1899 with the Frankford Athletic Association. The Yellow Jackets won ...

in the nascent

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

in the 1920s; Stockton was a member of the Yellow Jackets' 1926 NFL Championship team. Stockton and his wife, the former Nada Stepovich (the daughter of Matilda Stepovich and

Mike Stepovich Michael Anthony Stepovich (March 12, 1919 – February 14, 2014) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the last non-acting Governor of the Territory of Alaska. Stepovich served as Territorial Governor from 1957 to 1958, and Alaska w ...

, the last territorial governor of

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

) reside in

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...

. They have two daughters (Lindsay and Laura) and four sons (Houston,

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, and Samuel). Stockton and his family are

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Houston Stockton played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

as a

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

for the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fal ...

Grizzlies. In 2011, Michael Stockton, who played basketball at

's Westminster College, signed with

BG Karlsruhe BG Karlsruhe is a professional basketball club based in Karlsruhe, Germany. The club currently that plays in the third tier level of Germany, the ProB. From 2003 until 2014 the team played in the Europahalle Europahalle is an indoor sporting a ...

in Germany's second basketball division. In 2017, Michael signed with

BG Göttingen Basketballgemeinschaft Göttingen ( eng, Basketball Association Göttingen) is a German basketball club based in Göttingen, Germany. In 2010, the club won the EuroChallenge against Krasnye Krylya Samara from Russia. The team had played in Germa ...

in Germany's first basketball division, the

Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the highest level league of professional club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL season ...

David Stockton David Stockton (born June 24, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for the NBA G League Ignite of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for Gonzaga University and is the son of Hall of Fame point guard John Stockton. High ...

completed his college basketball career at Gonzaga in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

and, after playing for the

Reno Bighorns Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

in the NBA's Development League, played for the NBA's

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

and

. Daughter Lindsay Stockton played basketball for

and daughter Laura Stockton played basketball at Gonzaga. Laura signed her first professional contract to play for Herner TC in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in 2020. Stockton has a brother and three nephews who have played college basketball. Steve Stockton, his brother, played for the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

. Steve Stockton's oldest son, Steve Stockton Jr. played at

Whitworth College Whitworth University is a Private university, private, Christianity, Christian university affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Spokane, Washington. Founded in 1890, Whitworth enrolls nearly 3,000 students and offers more t ...

; another son, Shawn Stockton finished his college basketball career at the

in the 2011–12 season; and Steve's youngest son, Riley played for Seattle Pacific.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, 82 , , 5 , , 18.2 , , .471 , , .182 , , .736 , , 1.3 , , 5.1 , , 1.3 , , .1 , , 5.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 38 , , 23.6 , , .489 , , .133 , , .839 , , 2.2 , , 7.4 , , 1.9 , , .1 , , 7.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 2 , , 22.7 , , .499 , , .179 , , .782 , , 1.8 , , 8.2 , , 2.2 , , .2 , , 7.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 79 , , 34.7 , , .574 , , .358 , , .840 , , 2.9 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 13.8* , , 3.0 , , .2 , , 14.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 82 , , 38.7 , , .538 , , .242 , , .863 , , 3.0 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 13.6* , , style="background:#cfecec;", 3.2* , , .2 , , 17.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 78 , , 78 , , 37.4 , , .514 , , .416 , , .819 , , 2.6 , , style="background:#e0cef2;", 14.5 , , 2.7 , , .2 , , 17.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 82 , , 37.8 , , .507 , , .345 , , .836 , , 2.9 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 14.2* , , 2.9 , , .2 , , 17.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 82 , , 36.6 , , .482 , , .407 , , .842 , , 3.3 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 13.7* , , style="background:#cfecec;", 3.0* , , .3 , , 15.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 82 , , 34.9 , , .486 , , .385 , , .798 , , 2.9 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 12.0* , , 2.4 , , .3 , , 15.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 82 , , 36.2 , , .528 , , .322 , , .805 , , 3.1 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 12.6* , , 2.4 , , .3 , , 15.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 82 , , 35.0 , , .542 , , .449 , , .804 , , 3.1 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 12.3* , , 2.4 , , .3 , , 14.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 82 , , 35.5 , , .538 , , .422 , , .830 , , 2.8 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 11.2* , , 1.7 , , .2 , , 14.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 82 , , 35.3 , , .548 , , .422 , , .846 , , 2.8 , , 10.5 , , 2.0 , , .2 , , 14.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 64 , , 64 , , 29.0 , , .528 , , .429 , , .827 , , 2.6 , , 8.5 , , 1.4 , , .2 , , 12.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 50 , , 50 , , 28.2 , , .488 , , .320 , , .811 , , 2.9 , , 7.5 , , 1.6 , , .3 , , 11.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 82 , , 29.7 , , .501 , , .355 , , .860 , , 2.6 , , 8.6 , , 1.7 , , .2 , , 12.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 82 , , 29.1 , , .504 , , .462 , , .817 , , 2.8 , , 8.7 , , 1.6 , , .3 , , 11.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 82 , , 31.3 , , .517 , , .321 , , .857 , , 3.2 , , 8.2 , , 1.9 , , .3 , , 13.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 82 , , 27.7 , , .483 , , .363 , , .826 , , 2.5 , , 7.7 , , 1.7 , , .2 , , 10.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 1,504 , , 1,300 , , 31.8 , , .515 , , .384 , , .826 , , 2.7 , , 10.5 , , 2.2 , , .2 , , 13.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", All-Star , 10 , , 5 , , 19.7 , , .530 , , .333 , , .667 , , 1.7 , , 7.1 , , 1.6 , , .1 , , 8.1

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 10 , , 0 , , 18.6 , , .467 , , .000 , , .743 , , 2.8 , , 4.3 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , 6.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 0 , , 14.3 , , .529 , , 1.000 , , .889 , , 1.5 , , 3.5 , , 1.3 , , .0 , , 6.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 2 , , 31.4 , , .621 , , .800 , , .729 , , 2.2 , , 8.0 , , 3.0 , , .2 , , 10.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 11 , , 11 , , 43.5 , , .507 , , .286 , , .824 , , 4.1 , , 14.8 , , 3.4 , , .3 , , 19.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 3 , , 46.3 , , .508 , , .750 , , .905 , , 3.3 , , 13.7 , , 3.7 , , 1.7 , , 27.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 5 , , 38.8 , , .420 , , .077 , , .800 , , 3.2 , , 15.0 , , 1.2 , , .0 , , 15.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 9 , , 9 , , 41.4 , , .537 , , .407 , , .841 , , 4.7 , , 13.8 , , 2.2 , , .2 , , 18.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 16 , , 16 , , 38.9 , , .423 , , .310 , , .833 , , 2.9, , 13.6 , , 2.1 , , .3 , , 14.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 5 , , 38.6 , , .451 , , .385 , , .833 , , 2.4 , , 11.0 , , 2.4 , , .0 , , 13.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 16 , , 16 , , 37.3 , , .456 , , .167 , , .810 , , 3.3 , , 9.8 , , 1.7 , , .5 , , 14.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 5 , , 38.6 , , .459 , , .400 , , .765 , , 3.4 , , 10.2 , , 1.4 , , .2 , , 17.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 18 , , 18 , , 37.7 , , .446 , , .289 , , .814 , , 3.2 , , 10.8 , , 1.6 , , .4 , , 11.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 20 , , 20 , , 37.0 , , .521 , , .380 , , .856 , , 3.9 , , 9.6 , , 1.7 , , .3 , , 16.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 20 , , 20 , , 29.8 , , .494 , , .346 , , .718 , , 3.0 , , 7.8 , , 1.6 , , .2 , , 11.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 11 , , 11 , , 32.0 , , .400 , , .333 , , .739 , , 3.3 , , 8.4 , , 1.6 , , .1 , , 11.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 10 , , 10 , , 35.0 , , .461 , , .389 , , .767 , , 3.0 , , 10.3 , , 1.3 , , .2 , , 11.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 5 , , 37.2 , , .459 , , .000 , , .714 , , 5.6 , , 11.4 , , 2.0 , , .6 , , 9.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 4 , , 35.3 , , .450 , , .286 , , .923 , , 4.0 , , 10.0 , , 2.8 , , .3 , , 12.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 5 , , 29.8 , , .462 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 3.2 , , 5.2 , , 1.6 , , .2 , , 11.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 182 , , 165 , , 35.2 , , .473 , , .326 , , .810 , , 3.3 , , 10.1 , , 1.9 , , .3 , , 13.4

References

External links

NBA history profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stockton, John 1962 births Living people American men's basketball players American people of Irish descent American people of Swiss-German descent American Roman Catholics American women's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Washington (state) Basketball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Spokane, Washington Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball players Gonzaga Preparatory School alumni Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Montana State Bobcats women's basketball coaches Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees National Basketball Association All-Stars National Basketball Association players with retired numbers Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball Point guards United States men's national basketball team players Utah Jazz draft picks Utah Jazz players

Early years

College career

Professional career

Utah Jazz (1984–2003)

Retirement

Player profile

Awards and Achievements

Regular Season

International play

Post-retirement activities

Personal life

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

See also

References

External links