NBA: 30 greatest playmakers in NBA history

7. John Stockton, Utah Jazz

Point guard John Stockton wasn’t the most athletic players in the league, but he was one of the smartest playmakers to play the game. He is one of the most coveted players in Utah Jazz history alongisde Karl Malone.

Stockton led the league in assists per game and total assists nine times while wearing a Jazz uniform. He became the first player in league history to record back-to-back 1,000 assist seasons. Stockton broke the single-season record of 1,128 assists by Isiah Thomas during the 1987-88 season. He is one of three players to produce 1,000 assists or more in a regular season.

His playmaking ability paired well with the post play of Karl Malone and the shooting prowess of Jeff Hornacek. While the Jazz lost in back-to-back NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998 to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, Stockton played a pivotal role for Utah, averaging over 8.0 assists in both Finals appearances.

As one of the best passers in the game, Stockton finished his career with 15,806 assists and 10.5 assists per game. He ranks first all-time in NBA history in total assists and fourth all-time in assists per game.

The 10-time All-Star will go down as one of the best traditional point guards to play the game. He still finished his career averaging 13.1 points per contest, showing that he could score when needed to.

His IQ is hard to come by in the current NBA, but if anybody wanted to compare, Russell Westbrook is pretty close in terms of production.