Ranking the 30 best NBA seasons from players over 35 years old
. PG. Utah Jazz. John Stockton. 24. player. 118
The 30 best NBA seasons from players over 35 years old — 24. John Stockton, 2000-01 (38)
The peak for the John Stockton/Karl Malone Jazz teams came in the late 1990s, but they did not fall off the cliff after that. In contrast to their NBA Finals opponent those two seasons, the Chicago Bulls, the Jazz continued their winning ways as their two stars continued carving up defenses for years after their Finals appearances.
The 2000-01 season saw the 38-year-old Stockton and the Jazz win 53 games in a strong Western Conference. The former Gonzaga guard led the league again in assist percentage at 48.7, which measures the percentage of teammate field goals that a player assists on. It would be one of 15 times Stockton would lead the league in that statistic.
One of the league’s true iron men, Stockton again played 82 games that season (at 38!). He finished second to Jason Kidd in assists, led the league in true shooting percentage at 61.0, and had the league’s highest offensive rating: the Jazz scored 120.1 points per 100 possessions with Stockton on the court.
The 2000-01 season was the Jazz’ last as a contender, as they lost in the first round for the first time in six years, and would never again crack 50 wins. Yet for a team led by a 38-year-old point guard and a 37-year-old power forward, it was an impressive display of how chemistry and a tight-knuckled grip on excellence can propel a team to sustained success.