Where would Stockton rank as a point guard today

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Where would Stockton rank as a point guard today

Poll ended at Fri Sep 27, 2024 8:16 am

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Re: Where would Stockton rank as a point guard today 

Post#381 » by chicago paxsons » Thu Sep 26, 2024 12:43 pm

One_and_Done wrote:
ShootersShoot wrote:The guy led the league in assists over magic freaking johnson multiple times and he is being compared to tj mcconell. Should be ashamed of yourself for such a horrid take.

Also, bruiser pfs were never perennial all stars in any era. Bringing them up to compare against hof level talent is just nonsensical and quite frankly an argument in bad faith. Leading the league in assists, scoring mid to high teens at 60% TS, while needing to be challenged out to 3 point line will never go extinct in any level of basketball and will always be a highly desirable and impactful player. Its honestly that simple.

Volume assists are not a measure of how good you are. Ask Kevin Porter.


Volume assists are a measure of how good you are at facilitating if it's done consistently throughout one's career even with multiple roster changes (due to stockton's extreme longevity) without any major dips in productivity aside from the 1 year that stockton had a major injury (by his standards). In 1998. Where he still ran the offense of the team that made the nba finals.
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Re: Where would Stockton rank as a point guard today 

Post#382 » by Larry_Russell » Thu Sep 26, 2024 1:26 pm

Might be the best PG in the league.

Endless motor, endless.
Elite hands defensively
Elite court vision
Fantastic shooter.

No reason to believe in the least that he wouldnt dominate today.
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Re: Where would Stockton rank as a point guard today 

Post#383 » by Pelon chingon » Thu Sep 26, 2024 1:46 pm

I would have him comfortably as number 2 pg in the league if we are counting Curry as a "PG". Aside from that he's going to keep doing all timer things no matter what era you drop him in he was incredibly crafty.
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Re: Where would Stockton rank as a point guard today 

Post#384 » by tsherkin » Thu Sep 26, 2024 2:09 pm

chicago paxsons wrote:[
Volume assists are a measure of how good you are at facilitating if it's done consistently throughout one's career even with multiple roster changes (due to stockton's extreme longevity) without any major dips in productivity aside from the 1 year that stockton had a major injury (by his standards). In 1998. Where he still ran the offense of the team that made the nba finals.


Volume assists alone don't mean much. Rondo is a good example of this. He and Rubio and Kidd are all examples of how poor scoring can also undercut offensive impact despite excellent passing. As much as I crap on Rondo, he was also very good, just overrated due to his aversion to shooting and the way Boston ran its sets. If you have a low shooting volume and a system which presents high-volume opportunities to make basic passes to shooters coming off screens, you're gonna smash high-volume assist production.

Obviously, you can watch Stockton for about 5 minutes and realize he's more than that, but those are things worth noting. Stuff like, he never actually averaged 12+ FGA/g (11.9 was his career-high). You shoot that little and focus on passing to a volume scorer in a well-architected system with good peripheral shooting, you'll do well. Now, Stockton showed as he aged that he was more than that and in his prime, he was doing a lot more than just hitting guys coming around zipper screens, or kicking to the corner as he came around a Malone screen, for sure.

But raw assist volume output needs a lot of context.

But as you say, Stockton was still the guy with his hand on the throttle. He was an excellent game manager and he was an artist in the PnR. He knew how to make you pay out of that set, and he was an incredible pocket passer. Also had a strong left-hand pass. Great vision. Like, the man knew what he was about. It's very clear that he would thrive in an environment with better spacing and MORE emphasis on his favorite set. It can't be taken seriously, the notion that he would struggle in today's environment.
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Re: Where would Stockton rank as a point guard today 

Post#385 » by chicago paxsons » Thu Sep 26, 2024 7:25 pm

tsherkin wrote:
chicago paxsons wrote:[
Volume assists are a measure of how good you are at facilitating if it's done consistently throughout one's career even with multiple roster changes (due to stockton's extreme longevity) without any major dips in productivity aside from the 1 year that stockton had a major injury (by his standards). In 1998. Where he still ran the offense of the team that made the nba finals.


Volume assists alone don't mean much. Rondo is a good example of this. He and Rubio and Kidd are all examples of how poor scoring can also undercut offensive impact despite excellent passing. As much as I crap on Rondo, he was also very good, just overrated due to his aversion to shooting and the way Boston ran its sets. If you have a low shooting volume and a system which presents high-volume opportunities to make basic passes to shooters coming off screens, you're gonna smash high-volume assist production.

Obviously, you can watch Stockton for about 5 minutes and realize he's more than that, but those are things worth noting. Stuff like, he never actually averaged 12+ FGA/g (11.9 was his career-high). You shoot that little and focus on passing to a volume scorer in a well-architected system with good peripheral shooting, you'll do well. Now, Stockton showed as he aged that he was more than that and in his prime, he was doing a lot more than just hitting guys coming around zipper screens, or kicking to the corner as he came around a Malone screen, for sure.

But raw assist volume output needs a lot of context.

But as you say, Stockton was still the guy with his hand on the throttle. He was an excellent game manager and he was an artist in the PnR. He knew how to make you pay out of that set, and he was an incredible pocket passer. Also had a strong left-hand pass. Great vision. Like, the man knew what he was about. It's very clear that he would thrive in an environment with better spacing and MORE emphasis on his favorite set. It can't be taken seriously, the notion that he would struggle in today's environment.


I agree that raw volume does need context and agree with most else of what you've said. In another post, a page back i compared rondo and stockton as well saying a major difference between them was stockton's efficiency and overall lack of weaknesses on the offensive end. If anything stockton's weakness is his volume, but he's shown he can score efficiently in most areas on the floor whereas rondo was just outright inefficient. Even though both had low volume, this set stockton apart.

I do feel it's a bit harder to evaluate players who were efficient scorers, but for whatever reason never upped their volume. Nash, an all time great, has this as a question on his career as well, how much more success could he have had if he shot more, that even he acknowledged.
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Re: Where would Stockton rank as a point guard today 

Post#386 » by tsherkin » Thu Sep 26, 2024 7:31 pm

chicago paxsons wrote:I agree that raw volume does need context and agree with most else of what you've said. In another post, a page back i compared rondo and stockton as well saying a major difference between them was stockton's efficiency and overall lack of weaknesses on the offensive end. If anything stockton's weakness is his volume, but he's shown he can score efficiently in most areas on the floor whereas rondo was just outright inefficient. Even though both had low volume, this set stockton apart.


Oh yes. The difference in shooting ability is a very large and significant difference between the two. The threat he presented relative to Rondo was massive, and it forced defenses to play him in ways he could exploit for the pass, no question.

I do feel it's a bit harder to evaluate players who were efficient scorers, but for whatever reason never upped their volume. Nash, an all time great, has this as a question on his career as well, how much more success could he have had if he shot more, that even he acknowledged.


It's an issue, for sure. And it's typically smaller guys. I imagine some of that comes from the unwillingness to let fly freely from 3 the way which has become the norm today.
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Re: Where would Stockton rank as a point guard today 

Post#387 » by ShootersShoot » Thu Sep 26, 2024 7:51 pm

One_and_Done wrote:
ShootersShoot wrote:The guy led the league in assists over magic freaking johnson multiple times and he is being compared to tj mcconell. Should be ashamed of yourself for such a horrid take.

Also, bruiser pfs were never perennial all stars in any era. Bringing them up to compare against hof level talent is just nonsensical and quite frankly an argument in bad faith. Leading the league in assists, scoring mid to high teens at 60% TS, while needing to be challenged out to 3 point line will never go extinct in any level of basketball and will always be a highly desirable and impactful player. Its honestly that simple.

Volume assists are not a measure of how good you are. Ask Kevin Porter.


Porter jr averaged less than half the assists per game than stockton and a much worse ast/to ratio. And he doesnt shoot 60% TS...there is no comparison between him and stockton.
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Re: Where would Stockton rank as a point guard today 

Post#388 » by tsherkin » Thu Sep 26, 2024 8:23 pm

ShootersShoot wrote:
One_and_Done wrote:
ShootersShoot wrote:The guy led the league in assists over magic freaking johnson multiple times and he is being compared to tj mcconell. Should be ashamed of yourself for such a horrid take.

Also, bruiser pfs were never perennial all stars in any era. Bringing them up to compare against hof level talent is just nonsensical and quite frankly an argument in bad faith. Leading the league in assists, scoring mid to high teens at 60% TS, while needing to be challenged out to 3 point line will never go extinct in any level of basketball and will always be a highly desirable and impactful player. Its honestly that simple.

Volume assists are not a measure of how good you are. Ask Kevin Porter.


Porter jr averaged less than half the assists per game than stockton and a much worse ast/to ratio. And he doesnt shoot 60% TS...there is no comparison between him and stockton.



He's talking about a guy who led the league in APG 4x, including at 10.2 and once at 13.4 apg...
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Re: Where would Stockton rank as a point guard today 

Post#389 » by dhsilv2 » Thu Sep 26, 2024 8:30 pm

Pelon chingon wrote:I would have him comfortably as number 2 pg in the league if we are counting Curry as a "PG". Aside from that he's going to keep doing all timer things no matter what era you drop him in he was incredibly crafty.


Luka is listed as a point guard as is Shai. Gonna be hard for me to buy he's over those two.
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Re: Where would Stockton rank as a point guard today 

Post#390 » by Pelon chingon » Thu Sep 26, 2024 11:13 pm

dhsilv2 wrote:
Pelon chingon wrote:I would have him comfortably as number 2 pg in the league if we are counting Curry as a "PG". Aside from that he's going to keep doing all timer things no matter what era you drop him in he was incredibly crafty.


Luka is listed as a point guard as is Shai. Gonna be hard for me to buy he's over those two.


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Re: Where would Stockton rank as a point guard today 

Post#391 » by tsherkin » Thu Sep 26, 2024 11:45 pm

Pelon chingon wrote:
dhsilv2 wrote:
Pelon chingon wrote:I would have him comfortably as number 2 pg in the league if we are counting Curry as a "PG". Aside from that he's going to keep doing all timer things no matter what era you drop him in he was incredibly crafty.


Luka is listed as a point guard as is Shai. Gonna be hard for me to buy he's over those two.


Buy it now before you have to pay full retail.


I wouldn't take Stockton over Luka or Shai either, to be fair.
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Re: Where would Stockton rank as a point guard today 

Post#392 » by MavsDirk41 » Fri Sep 27, 2024 2:39 am

One_and_Done wrote:
chicago paxsons wrote:
One_and_Done wrote:Stockton was very useful when he played. Today he'd be less useful for the reasons articulated. His ability to get separation and create his shot is very TJ McConnel like, for good and bad.


Stockton was very useful when he played. Today he'd be more useful for the reasons articulated. He knew how to find open teammates at an all-time great level without needing to get good separation for himself, so harping on how much separation he creates for himself is a wasted exercise because it's a moot point. The comparisons between stockton and tj mcconnell are superficial at best.

In today's game that's not enough. You need to be able to create separation to be a star guard.



John Stockton would be able to create separation from his defender. Just because you disagree doesnt mean you are right. He was deceptively quick, elite ball handling skills, and he had the ability/skill level to stop on a dime and drill an 18 footer. You keep saying he couldnt create separation and i have no clue where you are getting this from honestly. He was as good as anyone in the pick and roll offense. Are you old enough to have watched Jason Terry with the Mavs? So he could get separation but Stockton couldn’t?
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Re: Where would Stockton rank as a point guard today 

Post#393 » by MavsDirk41 » Fri Sep 27, 2024 2:40 am

tsherkin wrote:
Pelon chingon wrote:
dhsilv2 wrote:
Luka is listed as a point guard as is Shai. Gonna be hard for me to buy he's over those two.


Buy it now before you have to pay full retail.


I wouldn't take Stockton over Luka or Shai either, to be fair.


How is SGA a PG?
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Re: Where would Stockton rank as a point guard today 

Post#394 » by chicago paxsons » Fri Sep 27, 2024 3:01 am

MavsDirk41 wrote:
tsherkin wrote:
Pelon chingon wrote:
Buy it now before you have to pay full retail.


I wouldn't take Stockton over Luka or Shai either, to be fair.


How is SGA a PG?


Some people have argued that lebron has been a point guard for years, not that i agree, but there's enough leeway in today's offenses that sga isn't unreasonably considered a point guard.

Either way, the only players who i consider to be point guards and would regard as arguably better than stockton in his prime is doncic, curry and sga.
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Re: Where would Stockton rank as a point guard today 

Post#395 » by tsherkin » Fri Sep 27, 2024 10:16 am

MavsDirk41 wrote:
tsherkin wrote:
Pelon chingon wrote:
Buy it now before you have to pay full retail.


I wouldn't take Stockton over Luka or Shai either, to be fair.


How is SGA a PG?


Point of attack player who controls the offense. It isnt Williams or Giddet or Dort or Chet, after all.
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Re: Where would Stockton rank as a point guard today 

Post#396 » by ShootersShoot » Sat Sep 28, 2024 10:19 pm

tsherkin wrote:
ShootersShoot wrote:
One_and_Done wrote:Volume assists are not a measure of how good you are. Ask Kevin Porter.


Porter jr averaged less than half the assists per game than stockton and a much worse ast/to ratio. And he doesnt shoot 60% TS...there is no comparison between him and stockton.



He's talking about a guy who led the league in APG 4x, including at 10.2 and once at 13.4 apg...


Oof my bad..porter is a much better comparison but volume assists was just one aspect. Porter never had a a/to ratio like stockton nor was he going to score 15-17ppg on pretty much elite efficiency. Guys like stockton who can score at a 60% TS clip while spacing the floor and leading the league in assists with elite assist/to ratios are way more valuable than guys who cant space the floor like a rondo. If stockton wasnt at 60+ TS every year while being a 38+% 3 point threat..then yea maybe he can be compared to a guy like kevin porter but even then stockton was still a better playmaker.

Yea averaging 10apg per game for a couple seasons is nice. 13.4apg one time is impressive..but stockton had a five year stretch averaging more assists than that per season with less turnovers each year. Literally no one has matched that in nba history.

The same people that say stockton cant create separation today are the same kind of people that would say steph curry cant get a shot off in the 90s..just utter unintelligent nonsense. If 90s defense is supposed to be tougher back then, how does it make any sense that stockton wouldnt be able to create separation today?
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Re: Where would Stockton rank as a point guard today 

Post#397 » by ballzboyee » Sat Sep 28, 2024 10:54 pm

One_and_Done wrote:Stockton was very useful when he played. Today he'd be less useful for the reasons articulated. His ability to get separation and create his shot is very TJ McConnel like, for good and bad.


The entire leagues offensive philosophy today is predicated on two-man and three-man game setting high ball screens out of the 5 out. The two-man game was Stockton's bread and butter as a player. Talk about dropping a duck into water. Getting separation in today's league is easy, especially since the league doesn't call moving screens anymore. The data shows that almost all attempted 3's are completely uncontested, and there are way slower players than Stockton in the league today getting 30+ minutes and open looks. Today's game would be easy for Stockton, and he would be on the same tier as Chris Paul at worst.
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Re: Where would Stockton rank as a point guard today 

Post#398 » by One_and_Done » Sat Sep 28, 2024 11:02 pm

Yeh, I disagree for the reasons I outlined.
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Re: Where would Stockton rank as a point guard today 

Post#399 » by tsherkin » Sat Sep 28, 2024 11:35 pm

ShootersShoot wrote:Oof my bad..porter is a much better comparison but volume assists was just one aspect.


Absolutely just one aspect. I'm sure he's there just to illustrate how volume assists can be kind of empty, as with Rondo. Also, he's not exactly a household name.

Porter never had a a/to ratio like stockton


Well, they didn't track turnovers until relatively late into his career. During his 13.4 apg season, he averaged 4.1 tpg, or 21.5% TOV. Stockton's career average was 20.8%, so yeah, that was actually fairly similar. Porter's was a little worse over his career at 22.4%, but again, fairly similar, and only comparable usage.

nor was he going to score 15-17ppg on pretty much elite efficiency.


No, he was up and down with his efficiency and not as efficient as Stockton, for sure. It was a notable separation.

Yea averaging 10apg per game for a couple seasons is nice. 13.4apg one time is impressive..but stockton had a five year stretch averaging more assists than that per season with less turnovers each year. Literally no one has matched that in nba history.


Yes. He also shot 9.1 FGA/g on his career and peaked at 11.9. During his 88-96 peak, when he averaged 13.1 apg, he posted 10.8 FGA/g. On a team which frequently struggled to find a quality second postseason scorer of value. Trading FGA for APG is a thing to a point, but at some point, you need to get it done. He averaged 20+ ppg on a postseason once in that stretch, and it was over a 3-game series. Scoring was not really his jam. He picked his spots to shoot very carefully and didn't do it very much, which was one contributing factor to his efficiency. There was more to it, of course, but it was a component.

The same people that say stockton cant create separation today are the same kind of people that would say steph curry cant get a shot off in the 90s..just utter unintelligent nonsense. If 90s defense is supposed to be tougher back then, how does it make any sense that stockton wouldnt be able to create separation today?


Stockton could create separation. He had a handle. It didn't look like Kyrie's, but it was functional. He was also very sharp about using screens and the threat of his shot. He was quite capable in transition, with end-to-end speed which might surprise people. Did you want him rocking a clear-out isolation against a set defense? No, but then, you're better off entering into a PnR set at that point anyhow. Was he a great broken-set player? No, but he could move off ball, catch and shoot well enough, or camp in the corner while other action happened. He knew how to leverage his skills.

But again, like I said earlier, no one is really trying to envision Stockton as a focal offensive player in the sense of a guy like Shai or Luka, so that was always a false equivalency, right? He wouldn't NEED to have individual self-shot creation ability like those guys because he would never be deployed as a focal scorer. So the tools he had would remain fine for the role he'd fill in today's environment. And he wasn't incapable of getting a shot for himself, either.
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Re: Where would Stockton rank as a point guard today 

Post#400 » by 90sAllDecade » Sun Sep 29, 2024 2:08 am

Just about every part of his game would be enhanced in this era. I don't see why he wouldn't be top five

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