The 21 greatest NBA players who never scored 50 points in a game

10) John Stockton

Of the 20 players on this list, John Stockton has the lowest career high with 34 points. While Stockton was never known as a scorer, it's still surprising that a Hall of Famer who played 19 seasons and more than 1,500 games never scored more than 35 in an NBA game.

The most obvious reason is that he was primarily focused on setting up teammates, something he was exceptionally good at. Stockton led the NBA in assists for nine straight seasons, averaged at least 10 assists per game for a full decade, and holds the all-time record in career assists. His playmaking was key to fellow Hall of Famer Karl Malone becoming one of the top scorers in league history.

Stockton had little need to carry the Utah Jazz offensively, allowing him to be the most prolific playmaker ever. Ironically, despite not being much of a scorer over his career, he came within 289 points of the 20,000-point club, a milestone normally reserved for the greatest scorers. That suggests that he was capable of being more of a scorer but ultimately had little reason to do so.