John Stockton was the Utah Jazz’s ‘walking advanced metric’ long before Rudy Gobert

Rudy Gobert might be the physical embodiment of an advanced metric, but he’s far from the first to do it for the Utah Jazz — enter John Stockton, stage left.

For better or worse, Rudy Gobert has dominated NBA headlines these past few months. While the irresponsible fondling of reporters’ smartphones might’ve caused a cringe or two amongst Utah Jazz fans, on both sides of the ball, his statistical dominance brought nothing but smiles.

But long before Gobert became a two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year or found his name in the top 10 of just about every advanced metric known to mankind, there was another Jazzman whose numbers rivaled those of Einstein’s: Mr. Short Shorts himself, John Houston Stockton.

The most jaw-dropping of ‘em are well-known amongst the most patriotic citizens of #TakeNote Nation. For starters, the dude’s durability rivaled that of Brett Favre. In 19 NBA seasons, Stockton missed a mere 22 games — 18 of which came during the 1997-1998 campaign. In fact, he played in every single game in 17 of 19 seasons.

Unfathomable stuff in the age of “load management.”

Longevity is one thing; actual basketball talent is yet another.

Stockton’s name will forever be synonymous with the assist — and with good reason. In just under two decades of NBA play, Stockton racked up 15,806 of them. Jason Kidd sits in “second place,” an astounding 3,715 dishes behind Stockton.

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I understand the magnitude of this statement, but I make it with complete and total confidence: sorry Barry Sanders, this literally is the most unbreakable record in all of professional sports.

And perhaps paying a symbolic, subconscious kind of homage to a future Gobert, Stockton got the job done on defense, as well. To date, he’s the NBA’s all-time leader in total steals with 3,265 takeaways. On 15 different occasions, he finished in the top 10 in total steals come season’s end.

In his final year of hoops back in 2003, he again accomplished the feat — he was 41 at the time.

As previously mentioned, though, these are known, well-publicized statistical achievements here in the Salt Lake Valley. What many Jazz faithful might fail to realize, however, is that Stockton’s basketball brilliance — much like Gobert’s — makes him an enigma of advanced metrics, too.

Complex numbers-wise, the biggest difference between the two, really?

Stockton did ‘em first. Stockton did ‘em longer. Stockton did ‘em better.

If the season were to end today — and that could be the case — Gobert would wrap up the year in the top five for win shares (10.0), offensive win shares (6.0) and defensive win shares (4.0).

In the same advanced, statistical categories, Stockton’s a generational great, though. For his career, he’s in the all-time top 10 for both win shares (20.70) and offensive win shares (142.77).

And while he’s 22nd on the all-time list in defensive win shares (64.93), he’s ranked higher than household, Hall-of-Fame defenders like Kobe Bryant, Dennis Rodman and Michael Jordan.

The advanced data doesn’t stop there, peeps — not even close:

Stockton’s eighth all-time in box plus-minus at 6.83.
Stockton’s 40th all-time in player efficiency rating at 21.83.
Stockton’s 25th all-time in true shooting percentage at .6081.
Stockton’s 42nd all-time in effective field goal percentage at .5463.
Stockton’s third all-time in value over replacement player at 106.50.

Not bad for a scrawny white guy from Spokane, WA, right?

Listen, I get it — Gobert’s great. His quantitative value is indisputable.

But the deeper the statistical dive I take into Stockton’s stats, the more convinced I become of the fact that — alongside Jordan — he’s somebody who deserves an eternal, 10-part documentary.

Will the same be said of Gobert when all is said and done? Time will tell.