LeBron James’ ability to score and pass almost equally well makes him a player like no other in NBA history.
SALT LAKE CITY — The most famous intersection in this city is the corner of 300 West and 100 South, which sounds rather vanilla, and was, until a few years ago when it received a catchy rename. And now, located just outside Vivint Arena, it’s John Stockton Drive and Karl Malone Drive, which is only right for these streets to make a connection for life.
A few feet away from the traffic light at the corner, Malone and Stockton are also immortalized in statues, with Stockton dribbling and Malone dunking, much like they did for roughly two decades with the Jazz, a partnership that produced everything on the court except, painfully, a championship. Anyway: Both are synonymous with the franchise and each other and rate among the best-ever at their positions and specialties.
Malone: scoring.
Stockton: passing.
Statues of Jazz legends Karl Malone (left) and John Stockton stand watch outside Vivint Arena.
It is that pure and simple combination which reflects the crucial aspects of offense, one that Malone and Stockton used to near-perfection, and it raises a timely and curious comparison. Because this season, more than any other, and scheduled to be celebrated in Sunday’s All-Star Game which coincidently takes place in Utah, will be the legendary player who personifies both.
“LeBron James,” said Malone, shaking his head, “is from another basketball world.”
It is LeBron and LeBron alone who reflects the elements that made Stockton and Malone so special. He has endured, like the Jazz greats, who both played roughly two decades. He bypassed Malone en route to becoming the career scoring leader just a few weeks ago.
He won’t catch Stockton in assists in this or any other lifetime — perhaps no one will, and more on that later — but ranks No. 4 on the career list which is much higher than a scorer should be. The parallels between James and the Jazz legends can’t be ignored.
“The man is special,” said Malone. “How can you not admire everything he’s done, and the way he has done it?”
James has already received a distinction that drips with respect — that he is one of one. The same can be said of the league’s most effective duo, teammates who never missed the playoffs, who coincidently and fittingly shared the All-Star Game MVP award the last time the game was played in Salt Lake City, and whose ability to connect, to this day, remains unmatched.
“We’ll always be joined together, as long as we live,” said Malone.
What made Stockton & Malone great
The ‘Mailman’ dunk was originated by Karl Malone, but LeBron James has done it plenty of times, too.
James is soaring here in his 20th season, although on a creaky ankle which temporarily pumped the brakes on his playing time last week. Nevertheless, his durability, bankability and just plain ability at age 38 defies all athletic logic.
He is averaging 30 points, good for seventh in the league, and that average is the third highest in his career. He’s also checking in at seven assists, again, among the tops in the NBA. The bad news is none of this reflects well in the standings, where the Lakers are laboring at 27-32 in the Western Conference, three games from a guaranteed playoff spot if the season ended today, but just the same, their won-lost record doesn’t reflect poorly on LeBron, who is clearly the best thing the Lakers have going right now.
Of course, James can’t be whittled down to one impressive season. To put it simply, he’s still in his prime; his just stretches for two decades, whereas the primes of other players — even stars — is roughly five or seven years.
That’s what James has over all the greats, even Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and yes, Michael Jordan. The combination of longevity and excellence puts him on an NBA island.
And then there’s another combination — scoring and passing — that also makes him totally unique. The scoring part has been regurgitated and amplified this season during his journey to leapfrog Kareem on the all-time list. But very quietly, LeBron also climbed a few rungs on the assists charts as well this season, settling in just behind Chris Paul, Jason Kidd and Stockton — who are arguably, along with Magic Johnson, the finest pure point guards ever created.
Take a look back at some of the best plays ever from John Stockton and Karl Malone.
That’s impressive company for James, who said: “That’s just what I love to do and get my guys involved. I try to put the ball on time and on target with my guys throughout the course of my career.”
And it was not lost on Malone.
“I’ve got to look at his rebounds, too,” Malone said. “When you talk about the whole package, it’s real in what he’s done at 6-8. I don’t like to say never, but you’re not going to see LeBron James again. Like they said about Elvis when he left the building. You’re not going to see more LeBrons. I’m 60. And I haven’t seen anybody yet coming up who might be another one of him.”
The same can be respectfully said about Malone and Stockton, if only because the game is different today. Both played when the NBA had strict responsibilities per position — point guards were point guards, big men were big men, etc. Not so anymore. This is the age of position-less basketball, and the emphasis on 3-point shooting and floor-spreading has made those positional definitions much more vague and ambiguous.
Which means, will we ever see a true point guard and power forward on the same team again, and if so, when?
This is especially interesting in the case of Stockton. He was pass-first in the strictest sense. He had high usage. He rarely made mistakes. He took nine shots per game, low by today’s standards (though he shot 51.4%, which is high by today’s standards). And he was crafty without being flashy and reckless.
John Stockton is regarded as one of the best point guards of all time and holds NBA records for most career assists and steals.
Stockton’s career assists total, 15,806, is Chamberlain-esque in sheer unbelievability. In NBA history, only three players recorded 1,000 or more assists in a season: Stockton, Isiah Thomas and Kevin Porter. Thomas and Porter did it once each. Stockton did it seven times in eight seasons. Stockton has almost 4,000 more assists than Kidd, second on the list — and Stockton was a backup to Rickey Green in his first three seasons in the league.
To put it in further perspective: Last season, only two players had 700 or more assists: Trae Young and Chris Paul. Assuming 700 is the current high-water mark in the league, someone would need to average 700 a season for 20 seasons — and they’d still fall short of Stockton’s record by almost 2,000 assists.
“With the days of point guards wanting to score, that’s not going to happen,” said Malone. “That’s a true point guard. I doubt if I see it in my lifetime, how he made everyone better.”
Stockton and Malone shared one very important trait in common. They punched the clock almost every night. Stockton played all 82 games in 17 of his 19 seasons. Malone, who took more punishment, played at least 80 games in all but two of his 19 seasons.
Him being my size and doing what he’s doing? What LeBron James is still doing at this level, you got to respect that.”
— Hall of Famer Karl Malone, on LeBron James
Obviously, Malone snickered when asked about load management, which has become an accepted (and disappointing) practice with stars in today’s game.
“All the guys who came before me, or played when I did, they’re cringing right now,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong, the game has changed and we respect that. But I have never, and will never, understand load management. That’s just my opinion. I’m not here to debate nobody, it’s just the way I was raised. And look — I understand nagging injuries and stuff like that. But I guarantee you, the majority of stars in my time wanted to play.
“As a player, the only way you get rhythm is to play. And when you’re a star, that key cog in that engine, and you’re taking days off, you’re messing up the whole flow of the whole team. I took it upon myself to be ready to play. Stockton was the same way. What if a kid showed up and never saw me play, how am I gonna do him and his family like that, all the money they paid? I showed up every night. That’s what I’m proud of the most.”
Malone also burned through the calories. His main reason for being No. 3 on the all-time scoring list, aside from getting to the free throw line and his longevity, was the pick-and-roll he ran relentlessly with Stockton. That’s how the two worked in harmony.
“Put some respect on the pick and roll,” Malone said. “Nobody ran it better.”
Also, Malone’s ability to run the fast break and fill the lane, knowing that Stockton would be ready for the assist on easy layups, placed him high on the scoring list.
NBA legend Karl Malone demonstrates the tricks to success in the pick and roll.
“I took pride in trying to beat the big guy to the other end,” he said. “By nature, we bigs don’t like to run. I had a track guy named Ken Roberson who taught me to stride. Before, I was taking baby steps. I spent two summers on the track in Dallas, rain and shine, and he taught me how to run. The first three or four steps were my most important steps. I just wanted to get the big guy on the back of my shoulder, and that was a wrap.”
The dwindling number of big men who are first options in the game today isn’t lost on Malone; in his era, the game was played inside-out, not vice-versa.
“Do they even want us in the game anymore?” he asked.
Well, actually, yes, if such a big man can impact the game in a way that he becomes a point of emphasis. Which describes a certain 6-foot-9, 250-pounder and what he’s done to defy trends and the passage of time.
That was Malone, once upon a time ago.
And that is now LeBron … still.
“Him being my size and doing what he’s doing? What LeBron James is still doing at this level, you got to respect that,” Malone said. “What he’s done for the game, respect that. I’m excited and looking forward to seeing him Sunday, and say congrats.”
LeBron’s legendary status already set
The league will hold a ceremony Sunday during the game to acknowledge Malone, Abdul-Jabbar and James as a way to connect the generational dots. LeBron is a student of the game and always shows a great respect for its history, and craves being accepted for his all-around ability, which goes beyond scoring — even though Sunday’s ceremony will be about that.
“I just play the game the right way,” James said. “I approach the game every night trying to be a triple threat, scoring, rebounding, assisting. And then may the chips fall where they may.”
The NBA has never seen a combination of scoring and assists like LeBron. And the league is still waiting for a big man/small man combo that can generate the same numbers and impact and wins as John Stockton and Malone.
In honor of becoming the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, we deep dive into his regular-season career mixtape!
Replicating any of them could take a minute.
“LeBron will go down as one of the greatest players ever, and I don’t think that’s lost on anybody,” said Malone.
“Let me also say you would not have Karl Malone in the Hall of Fame without John Stockton. Can’t have one without the other.”
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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA for more than 25 years. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.
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