A few facts about Stockton, NBA’s historical assists and steals leader: Grandpa plays football, but dad is a bartender

In the last week of March, on March 26, this middle-aged man named John Stockton spent his 57th birthday in a low-key manner.

For those of you who don’t pay much attention to basketball, you probably rarely hear Stockton’s name unless it’s when NBA records that are almost impossible to catch are mentioned.

While we are eagerly discussing that Dirk Nowitzki finally caught up with Wilt Chamberlain's all-time scoring total before the end of the season, we are wondering whether LeBron James can survive to catch up with Cards. When Reem Abdul-Jabbar became the first scorer in NBA history; or watching Jason Kidd's total three-pointers go from third in history when he retired to now being surpassed by James Harden After falling to tenth after surpassing, it is estimated whether the first two seats currently occupied by Ray Allen and Reggie Miller will eventually give way to Golden State's "Splash Brothers"... Stockton The long-term monopoly of NBA historical assists and steals records is the same as Olajuwon's unmatched total number of blocks. It is very stable, and there is no threat in sight for the time being.

This is not an exaggeration. You must know that on the historical assists list, Stockton has more than 3,700 assists than the second-place Kidd, and Chris Paul (9,137 assists), the highest-ranked player among active players, is 15,806 assists away from Stockton. Even with his career I'm afraid it will take seven or eight seasons to reach the peak of his career.

As for the historical steals list, Paul, who ranks tenth, is also the highest ranked among active players (2111 times), while Stockton, who ranks first, has 3256 times. Even if Paul chases according to his average of 1.9 times per game this season, I'm afraid the flowers will fade away.

Perhaps to our sons and grandsons, Stockton will still be an insurmountable benchmark in the point guard position.

Of course, although this thin white man has a terrifyingly high attendance rate, is polite on the surface but is known for being "dirty" defensively, and has a low-key personal life off the court that is almost ascetic, although the anecdotes that can be discovered are far less than that. His contemporaries were as rich and brilliant as Jordan and "Magic", as well as Kobe and James, who became popular stars in the league after him. But the more seemingly boring the characters are, the more surprises those little stories will bring you...

Let’s talk about a few today.

John Stockton has a lingering shadow: his grandfather.

His grandfather's name is Houston Stockton, who was the star forward of Gonzaga University's 1924 football team. The team maintained an undefeated record that year. Houston played professional football for four years and was regarded as a god-like being.

Stockton’s father, Jack Stockton, could have followed Houston’s footsteps into the sports world, but God played a joke on him.

"My dad, he was a big man," Stockton recalled, "but I wasn't." In fact, Jack Stockton was more like his son, John Stockton Dayton.

But with the fire of competition burning within Jack, he steps out of his father's shadow. He eventually became a god too, but a Dionysian incarnation of Dionysus, serving in the temple that every Irish Catholic parish had - the local pub.

Ten days before John Stockton was born, he bought the local tavern.

Jack and Dan's Tavern sits at the heart of the local community, and Jack spends his time bartending and cooking, adding to his father's legacy rather than trying to outdo him. He never complained about his humble house.

Jack is the kind of bartender who is good at getting along with others, but he also maintains his dignity.

There was never a picture of John Stockton on the walls of the Jack and Dan Tavern, partly because Catholicism viewed pride as a sin and partly because: "I and My partner built this place. If I was going to hang anyone's picture here, it would be mine."

That sounds like Jack's style - sandwiched between a famous father. There may have been some resentment between him and a famous son. But no matter what, John Stockton never made any disrespectful remarks towards his father.

Stockton often scored high grades in high school, but he still looked like a malnourished kid.

Few college scouts were interested in him at first. But fortunately, Gonzaga University, where his grandfather Houston had attended, was located across from his father's bar, and college coach Fitzgerald promised him a generous scholarship.

Stockton was very grateful to him, but he treated it jokingly. On Easter morning, he called Fitzgerd and told him, "Coach, I'm going to the University of Montana."

In Gonzaga's offensive system, Stockton's responsibilities were strictly limited to passing the ball, and he didn't adapt to the change. Until he met a mentor, college star Dan Bedwin.

"The great thing about Bedwin was that he played with his head," Stockton recalled, "and that's always been my problem. I was always running 100 miles a mile with my head down. , no matter what the situation."

So Stockton slowed down the pace and focused more on passing the ball. In his senior year, the team encountered serious injury problems and only eight players were able to play. Therefore, Stockton had to take on the task of shooting. He leads the team in points, field goal percentage, assists and steals.

He had bronchitis, but still averaged 39 minutes of playing time. His statistics are shining, but after all, he comes from a small place and has average personal offensive ability. More often, he can only act as the team's passer rather than a true leader.

Some people think that Stockton can at best be a coach in college, but Stockton believes that he has the ability to play in the NBA - but he never thought that he would get a job in the NBA. Opportunity to play in the NBA.

However, Stockton still seized the few opportunities. He was invited to try out for the 1984 Olympics. He then played in the College All-Star Game in place of an injured player. He shined in both activities, and subsequently, Stockton received the majority's approval that his draft stock would likely continue to rise.

Stockton’s wife Nata is a blonde beauty. When he appeared on the sidelines to cheer for her husband, everyone knew who she was, but no one bothered her.

There are rumors that Stockton never reads reports about himself. A reporter asked Nata: "Is this true? John doesn't read any reports about him?"

"Yes, that's true. We didn't subscribe to any newspapers. For a while, we subscribed to USA Today so we could know what was going on in other parts of the world. John thought reading about himself It's not a good thing. They either influence your state or make you believe that you are the greatest."

"I thought he would be happy to see his achievements."< /p>

"No. If he read about how great he is, he would be very shy."

Another reporter asked Stockton: "How big do you think the basketball is?" To what extent is it a mental game?"

Stockton said: "There is no time to think on the court. In fact, stopping to think about what to do next will only affect your performance. "

"Is it easy to stop thinking?"

"I don't know. I don't think about such profound questions."

"You can always stop. Thinking?”

“I haven’t thought about this.”

“Where does your confidence come from?”

“ I don't know. To do something well, you have to be confident, but that doesn't mean you have to think you're better than most people."

"One of my theories is that the most confident people. Having very caring and tolerant parents. ”

“My parents are great. My family is amazing – but I never label them as very caring. ”< /p>