John Stockton is a former professional basketball player who was named one of the best point guard players in the history of the NBA. Although now retired, his entire active career as a basketball player (1984 to 2003) was established as a signatory to the Utah Jazz Team of the National Basketball League (NBA). Throughout his career, he has been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame twice and named NBA All-Star ten times. He also holds the records for most thefts and career advancement with impressive margins. More interesting facts about him can be found below.
Who is John Stockton?
John Houston Stockton was born in Spokane, Washington, on March 26, 1962, the son of parents Jack Stockton and Clementine Frei. As for his ethnic background, he has Irish and Swiss-German descent. As a child, he was enrolled in St. Aloysius Elementary School, then attended high school at Gonzaga Prep. During this time he played basketball on the school team. Before graduating in 1980, he broke the city record for points collected in a single basketball season. John Stockton was then admitted to Gonzaga University, where he continued his college career in basketball. When he played on the school team in 1984, he scored well with an average of 57% shots off the court and a total of 20.9 points in each game. With Stockton on the team, the Zags scored 17-11 points, the best result in 17 years.
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Professional Career
In the first round of the 1984 NBA draft, he was ranked 16th by Utah Jazz. Although his selection was not appreciated by most Utah fans, John Stockton had to prove himself in the following games. He quickly proved to be 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 took him to a whole new level. In that game, Stockton surpassed the record of 9,921 assists in Magic Johnson’s career and set a new record of 9,927 with just 6-22 in the game. Impressive: While Magic Johnson pulled off his feet in his 874th game, Stockton pulled off his feet in the 860th game.
Through his time with Utah Jazz, Malone formed a formidable duo for the team with himself and his teammate. Together they played a commendable 1,412 regular season, and most of the assists Stockton took on during his career were the result of Malon’s passes on him.
On May 2, 2003, the NBA and die-hard fans received word that he was retiring from professional basketball. He was named as one of the best players to win an NBA championship title and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.
Net Worth
Considering how many years he has spent with his only professional team, Utah Jazz, John Stockton has undoubtedly earned quite a lot from his favorite game. Even more, since he holds the patent on his own shorts known as “Stockton’s”, he continues to earn after retiring from active basketball. This and more bring his net worth to a whopping $40 million.
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Family – Wife, Son, Daughter
John Stockton is a family man 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, and two beautiful daughters, Laura and Lindsay.
Interestingly, three of his sons are sports enthusiasts. Houston Stockton began as a college soccer player at the Unversity of Montana Grizzlies, where he played the defensive back position. Later he was signed up for the second German basketball league by the BG Karlsruhe. For David Stockton he started as a basketball player with Gonzaga, later he was signed to Utah Jazz like his father. Michael Stockton also played college basketball at Westminster College in Salt Lake City.
Lindsay, one of John’s daughters, also developed a passion for basketball, and she played the sport from high school through college at Gonzaga University.
John Stockton Height
John Stockton may not have been the biggest player on the court in his day, but he narrowly missed being called average height because he is 6 ft 1 inch (1.85 m) tall. Although most NBA players tend to be taller than his height, this has not prevented him from being one of the best point guards of his generation.
