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Utah Jazz to Retire Stockton's Number
The Jazz announced Tuesday that the club will retire John Stockton's No. 12 on November 22, 2004, when Utah hosts the New Orleans Hornets. Stockton, who spent his entire 19-year career with the Jazz, is the NBA's all- time leader in assists (15,806) and steals (3,265). He was also named as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA history. "We are excited to honor John in this special way," said team owner Larry H. Miller. "After spending his entire 19 year career with the franchise, John's incredible athleticism deserves to be memorialized. "We look forward to hosting him and his family on November 22nd, the evening will certainly be memorable." The 16th overall pick of the 1984 NBA Draft, Stockton retired following the 2002-03 season. In 1,504 career games, he averaged 13.1 points, 10.5 assists and 2.17 steals per contest. The future Hall-of-Famer was named to the All-NBA First Team two times, the All-NBA Second Team six times and the All-NBA Third team on three occasions. He was also selected to play in 10 NBA All-Star Games and chosen as co-MVP along with then-teammate Karl Malone in 1993 in the game played in Utah. Stockton was a member of the original "Dream Team" that won the gold medal during the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain and also played on the 1996 Olympic squad that won the gold medal in Atlanta. The Gonzaga product holds NBA records for most seasons leading the league in assists (nine), most consecutive campaigns leading the league in assists (nine), most assists in a single season (1,164 in 1990-91) and highest single season assists-per-game average (14.5 in 1990-91). Stockton appeared in the NBA playoffs in all 19 of his seasons and played in 182 of the 193 postseason games in Jazz history. He ranks first in NBA history for most consecutive seasons in the playoffs and also for most appearances. His number will be the sixth retired in Jazz history, joining Pete Maravich
(7), Frank Layden (1), Darrell Griffith (35), Mark Eaton (53) and Jeff Hornacek
(14). |
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