Signed
Looking forhard-signed Jazz autoJohn Stockton
One collector is trying to find a single signature from every man who ever played for the Jazz — all 370 of them, from the 1974 New Orleans team to today. For many of them, this page is the only one on the internet. Here is John Stockton: what he did on the floor, a few things most people never knew, and every card that carries his name. If you have a better example of his signature, or a story about it, the note at the foot of this page still stands.
Spokane raised him and Spokane kept him. Stockton played at Gonzaga Prep and then Gonzaga University, where his grandfather had starred in football in the 1920s, before the Jazz took him 16th in the 1984 draft — to the stunned silence of fans gathered at the Salt Palace. He never wore another uniform in 19 seasons, made the playoffs every year, and retired holding the NBA career records for assists and steals by wide margins.
With Karl Malone he carried Utah to the 1997 and 1998 Finals, and his buzzer-beater over Charles Barkley in 1997, known simply as The Shot, sent the Jazz there the first time. He entered the Hall of Fame in 2009, and again in 2010 with the 1992 Olympic team.
HOW HE CAME & WENTUtah took him 16th overall in 1984 to stunned silence from the fans at the Salt Palace, and he never played for anyone else. Two days after a third straight first-round exit, on May 2, 2003, he told Larry Miller and Jerry Sloan he was done — in a few words to reporters, not at a press conference. He was 41.
- Full name
- John Houston Stockton
- Utah Jazz tenure
- 1984–2003
- Position
- Guard
- Born
- 1962, Spokane, Washington
- Height
- 6′1″ (185 cm)
- Weight
- 170 lb (77 kg)
- College
- Gonzaga
- Drafted
- 1984, 1st round (No. 16), Utah
With the Jazz
JOHN STOCKTON · 1984–2003 · PER GAME| SEASON | TEAM | G | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984–85 | UTA | 82 | 18.2 | 5.6 | 1.3 | 5.1 | 1.3 | 0.1 | .471 | .182 | .736 |
| 1985–86 | UTA | 82 | 23.6 | 7.7 | 2.2 | 7.4 | 1.9 | 0.1 | .489 | .133 | .839 |
| 1986–87 | UTA | 82 | 22.7 | 7.9 | 1.8 | 8.2 | 2.2 | 0.2 | .499 | .179 | .782 |
| 1987–88 | UTA | 82 | 34.7 | 14.7 | 2.9 | 13.8 | 3.0 | 0.2 | .574 | .358 | .840 |
| 1988–89 | UTA | 82 | 38.7 | 17.1 | 3.0 | 13.6 | 3.2 | 0.2 | .538 | .242 | .863 |
| 1989–90 | UTA | 78 | 37.4 | 17.2 | 2.6 | 14.5 | 2.7 | 0.2 | .514 | .416 | .819 |
| 1990–91 | UTA | 82 | 37.8 | 17.2 | 2.9 | 14.2 | 2.9 | 0.2 | .507 | .345 | .836 |
| 1991–92 | UTA | 82 | 36.6 | 15.8 | 3.3 | 13.7 | 3.0 | 0.3 | .482 | .407 | .842 |
| 1992–93 | UTA | 82 | 34.9 | 15.1 | 2.9 | 12.0 | 2.4 | 0.3 | .486 | .385 | .798 |
| 1993–94 | UTA | 82 | 36.2 | 15.1 | 3.1 | 12.6 | 2.4 | 0.3 | .528 | .322 | .805 |
| 1994–95 | UTA | 82 | 35.0 | 14.7 | 3.1 | 12.3 | 2.4 | 0.3 | .542 | .449 | .804 |
| 1995–96 | UTA | 82 | 35.5 | 14.7 | 2.8 | 11.2 | 1.7 | 0.2 | .538 | .422 | .830 |
| 1996–97 | UTA | 82 | 35.3 | 14.4 | 2.8 | 10.5 | 2.0 | 0.2 | .548 | .422 | .846 |
| 1997–98 | UTA | 64 | 29.0 | 12.0 | 2.6 | 8.5 | 1.4 | 0.2 | .528 | .429 | .827 |
| 1998–99 | UTA | 50 | 28.2 | 11.1 | 2.9 | 7.5 | 1.6 | 0.3 | .488 | .320 | .811 |
| 1999–00 | UTA | 82 | 29.7 | 12.1 | 2.6 | 8.6 | 1.7 | 0.2 | .501 | .355 | .860 |
| 2000–01 | UTA | 82 | 29.2 | 11.5 | 2.8 | 8.7 | 1.6 | 0.3 | .504 | .462 | .817 |
| 2001–02 | UTA | 82 | 31.3 | 13.4 | 3.2 | 8.2 | 1.9 | 0.3 | .517 | .321 | .857 |
| 2002–03 | UTA | 82 | 27.7 | 10.8 | 2.5 | 7.7 | 1.7 | 0.2 | .483 | .363 | .826 |
| JAZZ TOTAL | 19 SEASONS | 1504 | 31.8 | 13.1 | 2.7 | 10.5 | 2.2 | 0.2 | .515 | .384 | .826 |
Season by season, regular season, with this franchise only. More info: Basketball-Reference ↗ · Wikipedia ↗
Did you know
JOHN STOCKTON · 9 NOTES- All-time NBA leader in both assists (15,806) and steals (3,265) — records held by enormous margins.
- Missed only 22 games in nineteen seasons, playing all 82 in seventeen of them.
- His partnership with Karl Malone — nearly twenty years of the same pick-and-roll — is the longest-running duo in NBA history, yet off the court he was so private he returned to his childhood hometown of Spokane every summer.
- Famously kept wearing short shorts years after the whole league went baggy, and turned down almost every endorsement offer he was brought.
- Retired with a few words to reporters, no press conference and no farewell tour — nineteen seasons ended as quietly as they were played.
- On a January night in 1991 he handed out 28 assists against San Antonio, still the Jazz franchise record.
- Re-signing below market value in 1996, he asked in return for guaranteed ice time at the Delta Center for his son's hockey team.
- An old Delta Center court, bought from Jazz owner Larry H. Miller, is installed at The Warehouse, the Spokane gym he owns.
- He had talked retirement over with his wife, children, parents and Karl Malone, but no one knew his decision in advance. 'I didn't know it until I said it,' he said.
