John Stockton holds many of Utah’s top spots in their record books.
The Utah Jazz had one of the best point guards in NBA history play for their team in John Stockton. He spent 19 seasons with the franchise and occupies many of the top spots in their record book. Let’s look at the Jazz’s top five leaders in assists per game for a single season.
John Stockton, 1990, 14.5 APG
The Jazz selected Stockton with the 16th pick in the 1984 Draft. He didn’t play much his rookie season, averaging just 18 minutes per game. He didn’t even become a full-time starter until the 1987-88 season. However, once he did become a starter, he dominated the league in assists. His highest average in the category came in 1989-90 when he led the league by averaging 14.5 assists per game. He also averaged 17.2 points and 2.7 steals that season, which helped him make the All-Star team and finish ninth in MVP voting.
John Stockton, 1991, 14.2 APG
Stockton played all 82 games and averaged 38 minutes in 1990-91. That propelled him to lead the league in assists per game again at 14.2. In addition to his stellar assist contributions, he averaged 17.2 points and 2.9 steals. He made the All-Star team, was named All-Defensive Second Team, All-NBA Third Team and finished 12th in MVP voting.
John Stockton, 1988, 13.8 APG
With his 13.8 assists per game in 1987-88, it marked the first time in his career that Stockton led the NBA in assists. The key was he averaged 35 minutes per game after playing just 23 minutes per game the season prior. The combination of his assists with his averages of 14.7 points and 3.0 steals per game helped Stockton finish 10th in MVP voting.
John Stockton, 1992, 13.7 APG
Not only did Stockton lead the NBA with 13.7 assists per game in 1991-92, but he also led the league with his average of 3.0 steals. It marked the fifth time that he led the league in assists and the second time that he led in steals. Stockton also averaged 1.0 three-pointers, which was one of three seasons in his entire career in which he averaged at least that many triples.
John Stockton, 1989, 13.6 APG
Following his breakout campaign the season prior, Stockton averaged 17.1 points, 13.6 assists and 3.2 steals in 1988-89. His assists and steals averages were the highest marks in the NBA. That helped him finish seventh in MVP voting, which would end up being the highest finish of his career. In his 19 seasons with the Jazz, Stockton made 10 All-Star teams, led the league in assists nine times and in steals two times. Across 1,504 regular season games, he averaged 13.1 points, 10.5 assists and 2.2 steals. In 182 playoff games, he averaged 13.4 points, 10.1 assists and 1.9 steals. Stockton was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.