"(Jazz owner) Larry (H. Miller) was so good about kids and the environment in the organization," Stockton said. "They shot around after games. I had kids that were buddies with Charles (Barkley). They had buddies on other teams — whether I liked the guys or not. There were some guys I had to go head-on-head with that they were shooting around with before the game, having a great ol' time.

"I'm sure they miss that. But that was going to change anyway."

Eventually, one day, Stockton had to retire.

He knew it. So did everyone else.

But as much as anyone, he earned the right for it to come on his timetable. No one else's.

The only question was when.

So many other sports stars, Jordan among them, have explored the answer in the public spotlight: retiring, then un-retiring and retiring yet again.

"I can't analyze what those guys went through," Stockton said. "I imagine there's a lot of similar thoughts each time, and once they get there, some guys might stop and say, 'Well, wait a minute. That was sure a lot of fun.'

"Maybe they had hopes (for) what the end would be, and it wasn't that and they had to come back. I don't know. But, for me, it's been all positive. Well, nothing's 'all' positive. But it's been positive."

That is because Stockton was so sure when he made the call.

No one else might have known for sure, but — with just the right amount of time — he did.

That is why he delivered the news like he did: with a boom, and no regrets.

"Because it was so hard to make the decision in the first place," he said. "I mean, I didn't wake up one morning. It was such a process, and finally, when the time came, it was it. I didn't enjoy it — quitting. But it had to be done."

Stockton calls is "quitting" not "retiring." Either way, he said, "I just knew that I enjoyed playing a lot, and for me to give that up it had to be time. And it's proved to be absolutely true."

Stockton's defensive quickness was deteriorating at the end, but his ability to run a basketball team was never questioned by those who watched him most.

What went first, then? The body or the mind?

"Neither," Stockton said. "I didn't feel like I was incapable of continuing to compete, mentally or physically."

It's just that he was ready.

On May 2, 2003, two days after the exit at Arco, last call came for the son of a Spokane tavern proprietor. He would step out of the spotlight and into the ultra-private realm retirement allows.

"You lay it all out there — whatever it is you have — and you walk home proud," Stockton said. "Those are lessons I learned growing up that paid dividends.

"I don't know," he added, with a pause. "It was just very clearly time."

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Watch it on TV

John Stockton's jersey will be retired at halftime during tonight's Jazz/Hornets game at the Delta Center. TV coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. on KJZZ Channel 14 with a pregame live segment including Stockton. Game coverage begins at 7 p.m. KJZZ is broadcasting the entire halftime ceremony.

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E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com