Comments about ‘Utah Jazz: Hall of Famer John Stockton dishes out quips, candid remarks in Q-and-A’

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Published: Friday, Nov. 15 2013 5:55 p.m. MST

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Saratoga Springs, UT

Hasn't changed, has he? What a great guy.

Little Andy
Tremonton, UT

Boy did they ever break the mold after he was born.True one of a kind. Even old school of a phone and Twitter. That hit home to me. John I hope your ride into the sunset takes many many years..

Harwich, MA

Seriously Kevo??
What makes him such a great guy? He was an exceptional basketball player but did very little in the community. Kept his nose clean, but also kept to himself.
Very few public appearances considering the volume of them many of his team mates had.
Never said much, seldom made any appearances and spent his money outside of Utah.
If he's a "Great Guy" I suspect you have a personal relationship with him that the rest of us don't.
I'm guessing he's getting short on cash and working the only crowd that will listen to him for support.
I'm not be difficult here, just calling a spade a spade.

Cache, UT

He is still my favorite player. I haven't seen anything from him that would convince me otherwise.

Riverton Cougar
Riverton, UT


He may not, and I do not, but I do know somebody whose family has an in with Stockton. He is a great guy, even if he keeps to himself.

Provo, UT

Cynic - a person who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. Somebody here is sounding awfully judgmental in his assessment of the situation. I'm pretty sure it is not a matter of a cash shortage that caused John to write this - he made plenty of money and is notoriously frugal in his spending habits.

I never considered that trait of keeping to oneself a vice or a weakness, given the number of prima donnas that make so much noise in the world of sports. Stockton did make public appearances, just not as many as other people, but that was tangential to his job of helping the Jazz win. And I do have to wonder how some guy in Massachusetts can fault Stockton for spending his money outside of Utah. So what!? He lives in Washington. What does he owe to the economy of Utah?


Dennis, he did much for our community and it was almost always under the radar. I knew a woman (now deceased) that attended church with Mr. Stockton the whole time he lived in Utah and she had a severely disabled grown son who he visited regularly at nobody's urging. My friend told me that Mr. Stockton performed many charitable acts- often through their church- that he would have been embarrassed had they been made public. He also was a great example to the children in our community on how to work to achieve goals and how to be a family man and conduct yourself with class. I guarantee you he is not running short on cash. you ever see him in Armani suits or driving a Ferrari? I hope Jerry Sloan doesn't read your post- He'd likely track you down and set you straight!

Tokyo, Japan


The guy knows his priorities...and that was his family...stockton is like my dad...always kept to himself...always work hard for his family...and would rather spend time with us...than go to a company outing or something...i am sure he contributed a lot during his career...and you should know by now that John Stockton...didnt like the attention...that's why you seldom see it on print...he never want it to be about him...so if he gives something or did some charity work...that is much more personal...much more sincere...than having it done with cameras...media...and have it printed on the paper...that is why he was my hero growing up (aside from my dad)...never wanted the attention...humble and was just an average guy in a world of millionaire sports stars...

St Louis, MO

There's one in every crowd. Dennis, obviously none (or nearly none) of us actually know Stockton, so we're all speaking to our impressions of him, backed up by watching him play for 19 years. You really don't need that dislaimer in front of every post, do you?

Why do so many consider Stock a great role model? Well, let's think about the characteristics we can all agree he has displayed since he joined the Jazz:

Strong work ethic? Check. Loyalty? Check. Disinclination to self-promote? Check. Toughness (playing through injuries, reputation with players, etc)? Check. Tendency to perform his best under pressure? Check. Outward respect for teammates, opponents and fans? Check. Lack of embarassing off-court shenanigans? Check. Lack of "Hey, everybody! Look at how charitable I am!" community involvement? Check. Devotion to family? Check.

Enough for you? I'm sure there are warts if we looked deep enough, but that's true of you and me as well. If you want to opine that athletes shouldn't be idolized as much as they are, I will agree, but there aren't many of them as worthy of admiration as John Stockton is.

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