Utah Jazz: The 50 greatest players in franchise history

All-time greatest Utah Jazz players: No. 1 John Stockton

• Seasons with the franchise: 19 (1984-85 to 2002-03)
• Regular-season games played: 1,504
• Averages as a Jazzman: 13.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, 10.5 assists, 2.2 steals, 0.2 blocks
• Shooting percentages: 51.5 from the field, 38.4 from three, 82.6 from the foul line
• Playoff games with Utah: 182
• Postseason averages: 13.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, 10.1 assists, 1.9 steals, 0.3 blocks

Stock.

Don’t undervalue him or the significance of an assist. Make that 15,806 of them — in the regular season alone — from the hands of John Stockton. Spanning a brilliantly consistent 19-year NBA career, he dished out nearly 4,000 more dimes than anyone else in league history.

Also putting today’s game to shame, the 2009 Hall of Fame inductee appeared in all 82 regular-season games 16 times.

The 6-foot-1 point guard first arrived in Salt Lake City via the No. 16 overall selection at the 1984 NBA Draft. He then never abandoned the franchise that picked him, becoming a 10-time All-Star and taking home All-Star Game co-MVP honors with Karl Marlone in 1993.

True, unlike his longtime teammate, Stockton never snagged any NBA MVP hardware despite Utah’s winning ways in its glory days. Of course, had Stockton not been on those squads, the general assumption is there’s no way Malone would have either.

In some eyes, even 18 years after his retirement, Stockton’s highlights still exemplify a “pure point guard” better than those of anyone anywhere who balled before or after his most memorable tenure with the Jazz.

Yes, via his smooth style as an exemplary leader while also serving as the band’s snazzy flow-producer with his keen feel and deft hand, Stockton’s on-court music will forever echo in Utah with his name synonymous to “Jazz” and its dictionary definition: “collective improvisation.”

John Stockton is indeed the most important and all-around greatest Jazzman. Ever. For Now.