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John Stockton is the NBA's all-time leader in assists. He is widely regarded as one of the best point guards in NBA history. Former NBA player and current analyst Kendrick Perkins, known for his controversial takes, listed Stockton as the greatest passer of all time.
Many of Stockton's assists were for Karl Malone, as the pair spent 18 years running the pick and roll for the Utah Jazz. Malone retired second on the NBA's scoring leaderboard, trailing only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Perkins believes he owes that to Stockton.
On NBA Today, Perkins shared his top five passers in NBA history. The list as a whole was quite shocking. Discussing Stockton, Perkins stated (starting at the 1:47 mark):
"Number one, I'm going with John Stockton. I mean career average - 13 assists for his career. Three years in a row, 17 assists plus. When you talk about dropping dimes, Karl Malone needs to be making sure that he has some type of savings plan, retirement plan for John Stockton's kids for the 30,000 plus points he got."
Kendrick Perkins was entirely off regarding Stockton's averages. Stockton, or any other player for that matter, has never averaged 17 assists per game. Stockton does, however, hold the NBA single-season record by averaging 14.54 assists per game. In his career, Stockton averaged 10.51 assists per game, trailing only Magic Johnson (11.19).
While Stockton is undoubtedly one of the greatest passers of all time, Perkins' overall list had some questionable inclusions. After Stockton, Perkins listed Johnson, Nikola Jokic, LeBron James, and Rajon Rondo. While the latter three are all incredible passers, it is hard to argue that they are the top-five passers of all time.
Matt Barnes and Jalen Rose believe Magic Johnson was a better passer than John Stockton
John Stockton is entrenched as one of the greatest point guards of all time. His passing in the pick and roll made him and Karl Malone one of the most unstoppable duos of the 1990s. But one player in NBA history who's passing surpasses Stockton's is Magic Johnson.
Kendrick Perkins' co-hosts Matt Barnes and Jalen Rose both listed Johnson atop their lists of the greatest passers.
As great as Stockton was as a passer, Johnson was more dynamic and more skilled. Although Stockton had more longevity and finished with more career assists, Johnson averaged more assists per game throughout his career. He was also able to make passes that captivated fans, whereas the majority of Stockton's assists came from the pick and roll.
Rose pointed out that Perkins' time with the Celtics may have created a bias that caused him to place Stockton above Johnson.
Guess the Bulls players in this quiz and it's not going to be easy!
