A lot comes to mind when you think of NBA Hall-of-Famer John Stockton — a point guard, an elite distributor, and one of the best offensive players in NBA history.
Long story short, Giannis Antetokounmpo probably isn’t what comes to mind when considering Stockton’s career. In fact, it seems the two couldn’t be any more different.
Stockton seemed to realize this as well and sarcastically named Giannis when asked to give a player in today’s league that most reminded him of himself.
https://twitter.com/nba_trades/status/1262166519926194176
It drew a lot of laughs from the panel, as they clearly recognized the ridiculousness of the comparison.
To put it in perspective, Stockton was listed as a 6-foot-1, 170-pound point guard in his day and was good in spite of his small size and frame. He was a good defender but excelled in setting up his teammates — he’s the NBA’s All-Time leader in that department.
As for Giannis, his 6-foot-11, 240-pound body is used to muscle his way to the rim for easy buckets. His game is predicated on strength, physicality, and athleticism.
A more accurate comparison might be Chris Paul, whose size and game are very comparable to that of Stockton’s.
Regardless, it seems Stockton was just trying to have a bit of fun. And in these wacky, weird times — who can blame him?
