No. 12 hands out more assists on big night
Stockton thanks his teammates, Jazz coaches and fans
But it was nowhere big enough to fit all the people that John Stockton — whose number will be worn nevermore by a Jazzman — said belonged in it.
"I think of it as 'our jersey,' " Stockton said in his pregame press conference prior to the halftime retirement.
He said he couldn't think of it any other way because he thinks of basketball as a team concept, so he saw Monday's celebration as more a tribute to those he played with, his coaches, his family and friends, mentors and idols.
"I don't believe you should have one guy's jersey up there, one number. That's not what a team is about.
"Everybody that's had a part of our lives growing up should take part in this," Stockton said, spreading the wealth even to the people of Utah, saying at halftime, "I want to include you with that. You all had something to do with it.
"I couldn't have played anywhere else," Stockton said, more candid now in his second season of retirement than during his 19 seasons with the Jazz. He told of former Jazz coach and president Frank Layden's stories about Madison Square Garden. "Didn't like that much," Stockton said.
"I couldn't have played anywhere else. I don't think I could have played in any other city and been comfortable — because comfort's part of it. You feel like you're needed and wanted and allowed to flourish a little bit," said Stockton, who came to town 20 years ago shocked that he'd been drafted and expecting to be cut in training camp.
He was so worried, "I had the cheapest apartment I could find. I saved every cent. I didn't turn the heat on," he remembered.
It was one of the traits that made him great. "Doubt has been a huge part of my basketball career. I always doubted that anybody else felt I could play. I always felt I could compete against anybody, but I didn't think anybody else would agree with me," he said.
He wondered when the Jazz "would figure it out" and get rid of him. "Coach (Jerry) Sloan always said he's not that smart, but he never figured it out," Stockton said sitting on the dais Monday with Sloan, Layden, team owner Larry H. Miller, wife Nada and former Gonzaga University coach Dan Fitzgerald.
Instead, Layden had it figured out that Stockton saved the franchise from being sold to Minneapolis or Toronto. The day Stockton was drafted, said Layden, "This became the turning point. I really think we wouldn't have a team here. This building. Be thought of as one of the great pro franchises.
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