John Stockton is one of the greatest point guards of all time, but former NBA player Jason Williams is confident he’d stand no chance against him. Williams and Patrick Beverley were ranking the best White non-European players in NBA history on their Hoopin’ n Hollerin’ show, when the latter stated the former is better than Stockton.
“I’d bust John Stockton’s a**, let’s be real,” Williams said.
Beverley felt Stockton benefited from playing in a better system during his career. He added that he’d pick Williams over the Hall of Famer if he were to organize a basketball game.
If you thought that was a bold claim on Williams’ part, he later added that he’d bust the late great Jerry West’s a** too. The 49-year-old claimed West wouldn’t have been able to cope with his quickness, and these sure are some bold comments.
Now, Williams had a pretty good career. He won an NBA championship with the Miami Heat in 2006, and walked away from the game with averages of 10.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.1 blocks per game.
Williams was an exceptional ball-handler at his peak, and Jamal Crawford even put him in his Mt. Rushmore. You’d have a very rough time slowing him down with that handle and his quickness. All that said, it is a bit much for him to suggest he’d easily get the better of Stockton and West.
Stockton, the NBA’s all-time assists leader, averaged 13.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, 10.5 assists, 2.2 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game in his career. He made 10 All-Star, 11 All-NBA, and five All-Defensive teams in his 19 seasons in the league.
Stockton wasn’t necessarily an incredible defender despite those five selections, but he was much better on that end of the floor than Williams. There is no real debate about who would come out in this matchup.
As for West, well, this would be a complete mismatch. The Los Angeles Lakers icon averaged 27.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game for his career.
West made 14 All-Star, 12 All-NBA, and five All-Defensive teams. He won a title, a Finals MVP, a scoring title, and an assists title along the way. This is a no-contest, and it says a lot when even Beverley was surprised when Williams made the claim.
NBA players tend to have irrational confidence, but Williams was underestimating these two Hall of Famers a bit too much. There’s a reason they made it in while he hasn’t.
Jason Williams Believes The NBA Has More Talent Now Compared To When He Played
We’ve heard plenty of former NBA players talk about just how much better their era was, but Williams isn’t part of that group. He thinks there is more talent around now than when he played.
“I think, as a whole, the league’s way more talented now than it was back when I played,” Williams said. “I can’t speak for before that or nothing like that. But I think the stars nowadays are bigger than the stars back when I played.”
Williams also dismissed the notion that today’s stars couldn’t cut it back in the 1980s and 1990s. He thinks the likes of LeBron James would be great in those eras as well.
Williams might have been off the mark earlier, but he was absolutely on point here. The great players ultimately would find a way to dominate in any era.
