30 most unguardable moves in NBA history: 20. John Stockton, PnR pocket pass
There’s a strong argument to be made that John Stockton is the greatest floor general the game has ever seen. He holds the No. 1 spot in all-time NBA assist by a considerable margin of 3,715 dimes over No. 2 Jason Kidd, largely due to his stature as the best pick-and-roll ball-handler the sport has ever seen. I understand that may seem like a big blanket statement for those unfamiliar with Stockton’s game, but I promise: Watch some tape and you’ll see what I’m talking about.
More so than anything, Stockton’s timing and feel for the game were impeccable. Even before Stockton’s roll-man set his screen, the dime-dropping savant would begin moving to displace his defender and create pockets to dump off incredible, high-speed passes directly into his teammate’s hands.
When defenders went over the screen, Stockton would drop a pass off to his teammate. When they went under, he found himself open for an easy jumper. If a double was thrown, he’d react accordingly. Generally, Stockton barely made mistakes with the ball in his hands. He’s one of the all-time leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio at approx. 3.7, which is much more impressive considering the sheer volume of his pass attempts.
When curling off a screen and heading to the basket, Stockton found perfect windows of opportunity to drop the ball into the hands of his roll-man. By doing so, he used his own scoring threat to open up opportunities for others despite the sheer lack of spacing that he often faced throughout the late-80s and early 90s.
If you still don’t get it, I suggest you educate yourself by watching some highlight reels of this man’s career. After watching him play, even just for a little while, you’ll come to understand why the pick-and-roll pocket pass is deemed a signature move for the point guard with the most assists in league history.