John Stockton is a former professional basketball player who has been named as one of the best point guard players in the history of the NBA. Though now retired, the entirety of his active career as a basketball player (1984 to 2003) was established as a signee of the Utah Jazz team of the National Basketball League (NBA). In the course of his career, he became a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee twice, as well as a ten-times NBA All-Star. He also holds the records for most steals and career assists by impressive margins. See more interesting facts about him below.
Who is John Stockton?
John Houston Stockton was born in Spokane, Washington on the 26th of March 1962 to parents Jack Stockton and Clementine Frei. In terms of his ethnicity, he has an Irish and Swiss-German ancestry. As a kid, he was enrolled into St. Aloysius grade school after which he attended high school at Gonzaga Prep. Whilst there, he played basketball on the school’s team. Before his graduation in 1980, he broke the city record for scores accrued in a single basketball season. John Stockton subsequently, gained admission into Gonzaga University where he continued his collegiate career in basketball. While playing on the school’s team in 1984, he did well to average 57% shooting from the field and a total of 20.9 points in each game played. With Stockton in the team, the Zags recorded 17-11 score, their best in 17 years.
Professional Career
In the first round of the 1984 NBA draft, he was chosen by the Utah Jazz as the 16th pick overall. Though his selection wasn’t appreciated by most Utah fans, John Stockton had to prove himself in the games that followed. He quickly showed himself an asset to the team for many years, it was his record-breaking performance in the 1995 game against the Denver Nuggets in Salt Lake City that put him in a different level altogether. In the game, Stockton surpassed ‘s career assists record of 9,921 to set a new record of 9,927 with just 6:22 left in the game. Impressively, while Magic Johnson achieved his feat in his 874th game, Stockton achieved his in the 860th game.
Through his time with the Utah Jazz, himself and teammate, Malone formed a formidable duo for the team. They both played a laudable 1,412 regular seasons together and most of the assists Stockton recorded in the course of his career were as a result of Malon’s passes to him.
On the 2nd of May 2003, the NBA and die-hard fans received the news that he was retiring from professional basketball. He has been named as one of the best players to win an NBA championship title and was in 2010 inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Net Worth
Considering the number of years he has spent with his one and only professional team, the Utah Jazz, John Stockton no doubt earned a whole lot while playing his favorite game. More so, being that he owns the patent to his own shorts known as “Stocktons”, he keeps earning even after his retirement from active basketball. These and more puts his net worth at a whopping $40 million.
Family – Wife, Son, Daughter
John Stockton is a family man and has been so since he married the love of his life, Nada Stepovich in 1986. Nada happens to be the daughter of the last territorial governor of Alaska, Mike Stepovich and his wife, Matilda Stepovich. As a couple, John and Nada have six children, four sons, Samuel, Michael, Houston, and David as well as two gorgeous daughters, Laura and Lindsay.
Interestingly, three of his sons are into sports. Houston Stockton started out as a collegiate football player with the Unversity of Montana Grizzlies where he played the defensive back position. He was later signed in Germany’s second basket division by the BG Karlsruhe. For David Stockton, he started out playing basketball at Gonzaga, he was later signed to the Utah Jazz like his father was. Michael Stockton also played collegiate basketball at Salt Lake City’s Westminster College.
One of John’s daughters, Lindsay also developed a passion for basketball and she played the sport from high school through to college at Gonzaga University.
Height
John Stockton may not have been the tallest player on the court in his time, nevertheless, he narrowly missed being referred to as of average height as he stands tall at 6 ft 1 inch (1.85 m). Though most NBA players tend to be taller than his recorded height, it sure hasn’t stopped him from ranking as one of the best point guards of his generation.
Also Read: Top 10 Richest People in the world with full biography and details.
