With the sun setting on Chris Paul's NBA career, recently, there's been debate about who is better between him and Utah Jazz legend John Stockton. Jazz alum Richard Jefferson weighed in on the debate on his podcast "Road Trippin," where he made it clear where he stands on the matter: Stockton was better.
When asked about who he thought was better between the two, Jefferson immediately answered Stockton without hesitation. While Jefferson made it clear that he wholeheartedly believes Paul is among the best of the best, but did not mince words on how he feels about Stockton's legacy.
"Let me just say this: CP, great point guard, statistically, all the things," Jefferson said. "I would say he's still five, six seasons away from John Stockton on the assist record, right?... John Stockton's one of the greatest players ever to not win it. He's not just like the best point guard; he's one of the four or five greatest players to never win a championship."
Jefferson, who played for the Jazz for one season (2013-14), came into the NBA just as Stockton's career was about to end. His first two NBA seasons coincided with Stockton's last two seasons, as the Jazz legend hung it up in 2003.
For what it's worth, saying Stockton is better than Paul is not a reflection of Paul in the slightest. To Jefferson's point, he was trying to say that Stockton was simply a marvel whose consistency and success is hard to replicate with most NBA players, and that includes future first ballot Hall of Famers like Paul.
Stockton's best attribute as a player was his longevity. He was consistently good from start to finish. The irony to that is Paul may perhaps be the one point guard who followed in his footsteps in that regard. Paul will enter his 21st NBA season next season, and while he's definitely declined as every all-timer has, he has proven he is still a quality player towards the end of his career, like Stockton did.
Would a title change the discussion?
Paul re-joined the Clippers this offseason, and it looks like he's there to stay until he hangs it up, whether it's this season or the next. He is not the player he was when Los Angeles first acquired him in 2011, but he still is a quality point guard who could give the team more leadership.
It's hard to say if the Clippers are among the best of the best in West this coming season, but they deserve props for going all in no matter how old they are. If, by some chance, they win a title with Paul, would that sway people towards him instead of Stockton?
Given that Paul is 40, it wouldn't necessarily change the discussion as he won't be one of their best players, but adding a ring to his legacy certainly adds more flavor to the discussion. The "rings or nothing" argument always has been and always will be a shallow argument, but it is a shame that two of the very best point guards to ever grace the NBA went through their primes without winning a title.