NBA: 50 Greatest Players Of The 1990s
By Phil Watson
50 greatest NBA players from the 1990s — 5. John Stockton
John Stockton came into the 1990s having just earned his first All-Star berth and as the NBA’s leading assist and steal man the previous season.
The roll was just beginning.
Stockton was an eight-time All-Star in the decade, sharing MVP honors with teammate Karl Malone at the 1993 All-Star Game, while also being named to nine All-NBA teams and four All-Defensive squads.
He led the NBA in assists and assists per game seven straight seasons, 1989-90 through 1995-96, and topped the league in steals and steals per game in 1991-92.
Stockton also helped the Utah Jazz to the NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998, losing in six games each time to the Chicago Bulls.
In the 1997 Finals, Stockton averaged 15 points, 8.8 assists, four rebounds and two steals in 37.5 minutes per game, shooting .500/6-for-15/.846. The following year in the Finals, he checked in with 9.7 points, 8.7 assists, 2.5 rebounds and two steals in 32.3 minutes per game on .490/2-for-9/8-for-11 shooting.
Stockton was the 16th overall pick by the Jazz out of Gonzaga in the 1984 NBA Draft and remained with Utah for his entire career, retiring after the 2002-03 season.
In the decade, Stockton averaged 14.9 points, 11.9 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 2.3 steals in 35 minutes per game, shooting .516/.399/.822.
He was No. 1 in the 1990s with 9,146 assists and an average of 11.9 assists per game, as well as with 1,753 steals.
Stockton is the NBA’s all-time leader with 15,806 assists and 3,265 steals. He is also third in NBA history with 1,504 games, seventh with 47,764 minutes played, 41st with 19,711 points, second with an average of 10.5 assists per game and seventh with an average of 2.2 steals per game.
A member of the NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1997, Stockton was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.