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On May 2, 2003, in the glorious old age of his life, John Stockton calmly and solemnly announced the end of his 19-year professional career. The high-ambition, lanky white hero stood on the podium of the press conference, and despite the vicissitudes of time, his eyes remained as resilient as ever.
Stockton was filled with emotion, recalling that thrilling night 19 years ago — the 1984 NBA Draft. The staff quickly stepped forward to comfort the slightly shy young man: "Not really, Dear John, they are simply surprised by your election. ”
Admittedly, as an ordinary white player, Stockton never had the luxury of stepping foot in the halls of the NBA. In fact, on the eve of the draft, he was always apprehensive, fearing that he would not be able to gain a foothold in the world's top basketball league.
However, it was such a young man who was once skeptical about whether he could stay in the NBA, but created a legendary basketball career that no one else can match. With his humble and never-say-die professionalism, he perfectly exemplifies what a true playmaker is, and his name will forever be remembered in the annals of the NBA.
Time flies, 19 years in a flash. With a kind smile on his face, Stockton knows that he has left behind more than just a string of impressive stats and records, but more importantly, a passion for basketball and a never-say-die determination.
His eyes were firm and bright, as if at this moment, the panic of his youth had dissipated, replaced by a confident outlook for the future.
For Stockton, becoming a professional footballer wasn't his original dream, and he just wanted to sweat it out during his college career. However, in 1984, the diminutive, 1.85-meter-tall white teenager was drafted by the Jazz under the eyes of scouts, and his NBA journey began.
At that time, Stockton was undoubtedly slightly inferior in physical fitness compared to many NBA players today. However, he did not lose heart, but regarded this as a driving force to move forward, worked harder, and made up for the lack of physical fitness with diligence and wisdom.
In Stockton's rookie season, he has already shown a strict frugal lifestyle. In order to save as much as possible, he even took the initiative to cook his own lunches, adding chili peppers to the food, and in the evenings, homemade spaghetti became his dinner choice.
In this way, he relies on protein-rich, low-calorie foods to maintain his daily diet, in order to maintain a high level of fitness during training and competition.
In addition to his frugality, Stockton's success is inseparable from his hard work in basketball. At the end of each training session, he never felt satisfied, and always chose to do additional basic exercises on his own, including the technical aspects of shooting, dribbling and passing, and strive to perfect all his skills.
It was this insatiable love for the game that allowed him to quickly rise to prominence and become a core player on the team.
While physical talent is crucial, high intelligence and mental tenacity are often the key factors that determine an athlete's career height. It was with his hard work and excellent wisdom that Stockton successfully made up for the lack of physical fitness, and finally climbed to the top of his life.
Between 1997 and 1998, Stockton and Postman Malone led the Utah Jazz to the NBA Finals, but unfortunately they failed to beat the legendary Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls to win the coveted championship.
Back in 1997, the first battle of the finals, the two sides were in full swing, and the scene was extremely tense and exciting. Toward the end of the game, the two sides were tied at 82, and at this critical moment, Postman Malone was unfortunately adjudged to have been fouled while fighting for a rebound with Big Worm Rodman, thus getting a valuable free throw opportunity.
All you need to do is hit all the free throws in his hand, and Malone can help the Jazz get off to a good start. However, at this moment, the naughty player Pippen whispered in Malone's ear when he was about to make a free throw: "The postman doesn't work on weekends~" This seemingly innocuous joke turned out to be like a magic spell, making Malone first fail to hit the first free throw, and then because of the trembling hand, the second free throw was also off the basket.
Faced with this thrilling game scene, Stockton was instantly so nervous that he couldn't help himself, and covered his face with his hands. When Malone unfortunately missed two free throws, basketball superstar Michael Jordan quickly grabbed the rebound, leaving no chance for the Utah Jazz to turn the game around.
Then, with only 7.5 seconds left before the end of the game, Jordan broke through the bottom corner and scored the first layup, achieving a near-perfect kill, and then helping the Chicago Bulls successfully win the "first game" of this victory!
The following year, in a fierce race for the championship, Stockton stepped up again and took on the responsibility of the team in the opening game, scoring 24 points and providing seven excellent assists to get the team off to a flying start.
However, in the next few games, Malone was heavily defended by the Chicago Bulls, and his form dropped sharply.
In the third game, Malone scored only 16 points, and in the fourth, he was even completely limited to 21 points by his opponents. The Utah Jazz suffered two straight defeats at the home court of the Chicago Bulls and fell into a desperate situation of 1-3.
Although in Game 5, Malone showed great strength, scoring 39 points in a single game to pull the team back, and in Game 6, Stockton made a crucial three-pointer with just 21 seconds left to end the game, successfully overtaking the score.
Stockton could only watch Jordan shatter their dreams in front of them again and again, filled with endless pain. Although he averaged 19.5 points and 14.8 assists per game in the Finals in those two years, the regret of not winning the championship in the end was like a huge mountain that always weighed on his heart.
The two-year losses not only brought Stockton and Malone away from the championship, but also brought them the sad title of "Uncrowned King", becoming the most tragic pair in NBA history.
However, results aside, Stockton's outstanding performances in the finals in those two years undoubtedly showcased his exceptional talent.
Despite two failed Finals appearances, Stockton's career has been nothing short of spectacular. This humble and low-key point guard has set numerous impressive records and achievements in the NBA.
Among them, the most praised is Stockton's proud record of winning the assist title nine times in a row, which not only made him equal the record of legendary point guard Bob Cousy for seven consecutive years of assists, but also won this honor for nine seasons, becoming the pinnacle in the history of the league that is difficult for future generations to surpass.
Fast forward to the 1988-89 season, which was undoubtedly an important turning point in Stockton's career. In previous seasons, he has played a bench role behind Green. This season, however, with Green's departure, Stockton finally ushered in his coveted position as starting point guard.
With more opportunities to perform, he relentlessly unleashed his long-hidden strength, averaging 13.6 magic-like assists and 3.2 steals per game, both of which are the best in the league!
In the nine years since, Stockton has been a dark horse. He set a new assist record of 1,123 in a single season and won the assist title for the eighth time in 1994-95, equalling the record held by Cousy for many years.
By the end of the season, Stockton had reached a staggering 9,922 assists, officially claiming the NBA's assist crown crown.
In addition to his impressive record in assists, Stockton is also a leader in steals. As a defender with excellent defensive skills, he consistently leads the pack in steals per game.
At the peak of his career, he was even able to average 2.95 steals per game, which is only the third best in the league, but it is enough to prove the depth of his defensive skills.
Stockton's record at the purely statistical level is undoubtedly jaw-dropping, but his chemistry with Malone on the pitch is an unrivalled work of art.
The two of them are known as the "Utah Twins", and with their efficient and exquisite blocking and pick-and-roll tactics, they have led the Jazz to the playoffs many times and reached the stage of the Finals twice.
Despite not winning the championship trophy in the end, Stockton has exemplified a generation's relentless quest for excellence through his career. The records he set in the league each season will forever go down in history and become the jewels of NBA history.
Back in 1984, at the age of 22, Stockton was spotted by the Jazz and began his long and legendary NBA career. However, at that time, he was still full of deep doubts and uneasiness about whether he would be able to gain a foothold in the league.
In fact, before stepping foot in the NBA, Stockton was not widely regarded as a gifted basketball prodigy. It wasn't even until the eve of the draft that he barely caught the attention of scouts.
Despite his thin stature and almost unremarkable talent, it's hard to imagine that he could become a legend in NBA history. However, the same seemingly ordinary rookie showed an astonishing all-time appearance record in his rookie season! Although he was only a backup role for Green at the time, Stockton had already made his mark in his rookie season, showing exceptional talent and tenacity.
In his rookie season, he averaged only 5.6 points and 5.1 assists per game, and his scoring ability and playmaking skills need to be improved. However, he single-handedly set a new all-time record for assists and steals by the Jazz's rookie and helped the team advance to the playoffs that year.
It was this hugely underrated young player who showed extraordinary potential in his first season of his career, and his otherworldly hard work, high spirits, and outstanding basketball talent have kept him up with endless energy for the future.
From an unknown rookie to the league's all-time record with the most assists and steals, Stockton has spent his career perfectly exemplifying the never-say-die pursuit of basketball.
How could that young man, who had been terrified in his heart, have predicted that he would one day achieve such brilliant achievements?
Looking back on the journey along the way, Stockton is full of emotion: "Although I am deeply disappointed not to win the championship in the end, we have worked tirelessly to win the glory of today, and we have made it to the finals twice, but unfortunately the result was not as good as we should be.