John Stockton's playoff performances

This is part of an ongoing discussion about whether John Stockton is truly one of the NBA's elite all-time players. The arguments in his favor are fairly obvious; all-time leader in career assists and steals, 5th in career win-shares. The only statistical argument I have heard against his elite status is how he fared compared to the point guards he faced in the playoffs. This thread will attempt to examine that claim more closely.

It might be worth mentioning that Stockton spent his first three years as a backup to Ricky Green, and the Jazz never advanced past the first round in that time.

1988 - round 1 vs Portland's Terry Porter

Game 1:
Stockton - shot .667 for 20 pts., 9 assists, 2 steals, 2 boards, 6 turnovers, loss
Porter - shot .600 for 20 pts., 12 assists, 4 steals, 6 boards, 2 turnovers, win

Game 2:
Stockton - shot .250 for 20 pts., 13 assists, 1 steal, 6 boards, 5 turnovers, win
Porter - shot .533 for 19 pts., 7 assists, 3 steals, 3 boards, 3 turnovers, loss

Game 3:
Stockton - shot .600 for 17 pts., 16 assists, 4 steals, 4 boards, 5 turnovers, win
Porter - shot .556 for 12 pts., 4 assists, 0 steals, 2 boards, 1 turnover, loss

Game 4:
Stockton - shot .500 for 23 pts., 10 assists, 2 steals, 9 boards, 6 turnovers, win
Porter - shot .538 for 17 pts., 5 assists, 3 steals, 3 boards, 7 turnovers, loss

Series
Points: Stockton 80, Porter 68
Assists: Stockton 48, Porter 28
Steals: Porter 10, Stockton 9
Boards: Stockton 21, Porter 14
Turnovers: Porter 13, Stockton 22

Review: Stockton was decisively better in three categories and only slightly worse in another against a PG who was probably much better than history remembers. The turnovers are problematic though. Good court generals shouldn't turn it over that much, but this was his first playoff series as a starter. What's impressive is the number of rebounds he cleared at 6'1" considering guys like Malone and Eaton were also on that team.

1988 - round 2 vs Los Angeles' Magic Johnson

Game 1:
Stockton - .231 for 7 pts., 16 a, 4 s, 1 b, 3 to, loss
Johnson - .545 for 19 pts., 9 a, 2 s, 5 b, 5 to, win

Game 2:
Stockton - .467 for 19 pts., 13 a, 2 s, 6 b, 3 to, win
Johnson - .467 for 19 pts., 10 a, 0 s, 7 b, 8 to, loss

Game 3:
Stockton - .667 for 22 pts., 12 a, 5 s, 4 b, 3 to, win
Johnson - .500 for 16 pts., 6 a, 1 s, 0 b, 3 to, loss

Game 4:
Stockton - .500 for 21 pts., 13 a, 4 s, 4 b, 4 to, loss
Johnson - .538 for 24 pts., 9 a, 0 s, 2 b, 3 to, win

Game 5:
Stockton - .500 for 23 pts., 24 a, 5 s, 3 b, 3 to, loss
Johnson - .556 for 20 pts., 13 a, 2 s, 3 b, 2 to, win

Game 6:
Stockton - .444 for 14 pts., 17 a, 3 s, 5 b, 5 to, win
Johnson - .250 for 10 pts., 9 a, 1 s, 6 b, 3 to, loss

Game 7:
Stockton - .667 for 29 pts., 20 a, 5 s, 1 b, 5 to, loss
Johnson - .600 for 23 pts., 16 a, 1 s, 9 b, 3 to, win

Series:
Points - Stockton 135, Johnson 121
Assists - Stockton 115, Johnson 72
Steals - Stockton 28, Johnson 7
Boards - Johnson 32, Stockton 24
Turnovers - Stockton 26, Johnson 27

Review - When the Jazz lost this series, I have a hard time believing many were saying it was because Magic clearly outplayed Stockton. Stockton had a BIG edge in steals and assists. The other three categories could almost be considered a wash in a full seven-game series. The biggest weakness in Stockton's game in this series appeared to be his FG%.

1989 - opening round vs. Golden State's Winston Garland

Game 1:
Stockton - .524 for 30, 14 a, 2 s, 2 b, 2 to, loss
Garland - .400 for 18, 8 a, 4 s, 3 b, 1 to, win

Game 2:
Stockton - .333 for 18, 11 a, 3 s, 5 b, 4 to, loss
Garland - .545 for 13, 3 a, 0 s, 6 b, 1 to, win

Game 3:
Stockton - .650 for 34, 16 a , 6 s, 3 b, 5 to, loss
Garland - .333 for 11, 2 a, 0 s, 3 b, 1 to, win

Series:
Points - Stockton 82, Garland 42
Assists - Stockton 41, Garland 13
Steals - Stockton 11, Garland 4
Boards - Garland 12, Stockton 10
Turnovers - Garland 3, Stockton 11

Review - Honestly I barely even remember the name Winston Garland. He had two seasons as a starter for the Warriors and then another year as a starter late in his career with the Nuggets, so this guy was never going to be compared with the greats of his time anyway. Stockton's turnovers in these 1st round match-ups are starting to look like a troubling trend though.

1990 - opening round vs. Phoenix's Kevin Johnson

Game 1:
Johnson only played nine minutes in this game, so it would be unfair to compare numbers

Game 2:
Stockton - .417 for 12, 8 a, 0 s, 3 b, 2 to, loss
Johnson - .500 for 22, 7 a, 0 s, 4 b, 7 to, win

Game 3:
Stockton - .444 for 22, 19 a, 3 s, 3 b, 3 to, loss
Johnson - .370 for 29, 12 a, 3 s, 4 b, 6 to, win

Game 4:
Stockton - .500 for 16, 14 a, 0 s, 2 b, 4 to, win
Johnson - .391 for 22, 13 a, 1 s, 4 b, 5 to, loss

Game 5:
Stockton - .273 for 9, 17 a, 0 s, 6 b, 1 to, loss
Johnson - .500 for 26, 9 a, 0 s, 1 b, 1 to, win

Series:
Points - Johnson 99, Stockton 59
Assists - Stockton 58, Johnson 41
Steals - Johnson 4, Stockton 3
Boards - Stockton 14, Johnson 13
Turnovers - Stockton 10, Johnson 19

Review - KJ was definitely the better shooter in this series, and that can be a difference-maker sometimes. Stockton distributed better and controlled the ball better. The other two categories are a push. This might be the closest PG matchup we have seen so far in Stockton's playoff career, but it would still be hard to say he was definitively outplayed.

1991 - opening round vs. Phoenix's Kevin Johnson

Game 1:
Stockton - .727 for 18, 15 a, 1 s, 1 b, 1 to, win
Johnson - .333 for 14, 6 a, 0 s, 4 b, 5 to, loss

Game 2:
Stockton - .692 for 22, 11 a, 2 s, 5 b, 6 to, loss
Johnson - .200 for 10, 12 a, 0 s, 1 b, 3 to, win

Game 3:
Stockton - .538 for 18, 12 a, 2 s, 6 b, 4 to, win
Johnson - .333 for 10, 10 a, 2 s, 6 b, 3 to, loss

Game 4:
Stockton - .500 for 14, 13 a, 1 s, 6 b, 7 to, win
Johnson - .316 for 17, 11 a, 0 s, 2 b, 1 to, loss

Series:
Points - Stockton 72, Johnson 51
Assists - Stockton 51, Johnson 39
Steals - Stockton 6, Johnson 2
Boards - Stockton 18, Johnson 13
Turnovers - Johnson 12, Stockton 18

Review - In this rematch from the previous year, it was somewhat close, but this time Stockton was clearly the better shooter. That turnover margin is definitely starting to be a trend.

1992 - divisional round vs. Portland's Terry Porter

Game 1:
Stockton - .467 for 23, 16 a, 4 s, 6 b, 3 to, loss
Porter - .353 for 19, 9 a, 4 s, 3 b, 3 to, win

Game 2:
Stockton - .538 for 20, 12 a, 1 s, 5 b, 3 to, loss
Porter - .538 for 22, 8 a, 0 s, 2 b, 2 to, win

Game 3:
Stockton - .545 for 18, 15 a, 3 s, 6 b, 3 to, win
Porter - .625 for 28, 4 a, 0 s, 4 b, 2 to, loss

Game 4:
Stockton - .286 for 12, 16 a, 4 s, 4 b, 3 to, loss
Porter - .600 for 20, 6 a, 3 s, 3 b, 2 to, win

Game 5:
Stockton - .600 for 19, 14 a, 2 s, 3 b, 2 to, loss
Porter - .438 for 22, 7 a, 2 s, 5 b, 2 to, win

Series:
Points - Porter 111, Stockton 92
Assists - Stockton 73, Porter 34
Steals - Stockton 14, Porter 9
Boards - Stockton 24, Porter 17
Turnovers - Porter 11, Stockton 14

Review - This was a weird one without some actual eyes on the game. Porter and Drexler had almost identical points and assists in this series. Porter's scoring was up, but his distributing was down. Porter scored more points than Stockton, and both had some hot and cold shooting nights. Most of the other indicators are either very close or lean in Stockton's favor. It would be tough to call as to who had the better series, but we can say that Stockton was not definitively outplayed.

1992 - opening round vs. Los Angeles Clipper's Doc Rivers

Game 1:
Stockton - .429 for 10, 21 a, 1 s, 2 b, 1 to, win
Rivers - .571 for 23, 5 a, 0 s, 3 b, 1 to, loss

Game 2:
Stockton - .545 for 21, 18 a, 2 s, 8 b, 7 to, win
Rivers - .500 for 13, 6 a, 0 s, 3 b, 0 to, loss

Game 3:
Stockton - .357 for 20, 13 a, 4 s, 1 b, 3 to, loss
Rivers - .667 for 15, 3 a, 2 s, 5 b, 0 to, win

Game 4:
Stockton - .417 for 16, 18 a, 3 s, 2 b, 2 to, loss
Rivers - .300 for 17, 4 a, 1 s, 5 b, 1 to, win

Game 5:
Stockton - .500 for 13, 9 a, 0 s, 5 b, 5 to, win
Rivers - .286 for 8, 3 a, 3 s, 3 b, 1 to, loss

Series:
Points - Stockton 80, Rivers 76
Assists - Stockton 79, Rivers 21
Steals - Stockton 10, Rivers 6
Boards - Rivers 19, Stockton 18
Turnovers - Rivers 3, Stockton 15

Review - Rivers was a good point guard, but nothing more than that. He actually played Stockton pretty close in all but two categories. Stockton almost had as many assists in this series as the entire Clippers team. Rivers almost never gave up the ball and Stockton's turnover ratio continues to be problematic.

1992 - divisional round vs. Seattle's Gary Payton

Game 1:
Stockton - .583 for 16, 15 a, 3 s, 10 b, 2 to, win
Payton - .667 for 4, 1 a, 0 s, 3 b, 1 to, loss

Game 2:
Stockton - .273 for 10, 14 a, 3 s, 2 b, 3 to, win
Payton - .667 for 4, 3 a, 0 s, 2 b, 1 to, loss

Game 3:
Stockton - .692 for 23, 11 a, 3 s, 4 b, 7 to, loss
Payton - .444 for 8, 6 a, 2 s, 5 b, 0 to, win

Game 4:
Stockton - .111 for 4, 13 a, 2 s, 4 b, 4 to, win
Payton - 1.000 for 2, 2 a, 0 s, 2 b, 2 to, loss

Game 5:
Payton did not play

Series:
Points - Stockton 53, Payton 18
Assists - Stockton 53, Payton 12
Steals - Stockton 11, Payton 2
Boards - Stockton 20, Payton 12
Turnovers - Payton 4, Stockton 16

Review - I'm going to assume that Payton had some injuries he was dealing with in this series because Nate McMillan ate up a lot of Payton's minutes. It would be nearly impossible to claim that Payton won this matchup.

1992 - conference championship vs. Portland's Terry Porter

Game 1:
Stockton - .167 for 6, 9 a, 0 s, 1 b, 3 to, loss
Porter - .667 for 26, 8 a, 1 s, 3 b, 1 to, win

Game 2:
Stockton - .692 for 24, 11 a, 0 s, 2 b, 6 to, loss
Porter - .857 for 41, 7 a, 3 s, 6 b, 1 to, win

Game 3:
Stockton - .385 for 14, 10 a, 1 s, 3 b, 3 to, win
Porter - .231 for 13, 7 a, 1 s, 2 b, 2 to, loss

Game 4:
Stockton - .545 for 18, 15 a, 3 s, 5 b, 2 to, win
Porter - .563 for 34, 7 a, 0 s, 5 b, 2 to, loss

Game 5:
Stockton - .167 for 6, 10 a, 3 s, 1 b, 1 to, loss
Porter - .667 for 24, 11 a, 1 s, 4 b, 1 to, win

Game 6:
Stockton - .263 for 18, 12 a, 1 s, 4 b, 5 to, loss
Porter - .167 for 18, 10 a, 0 s, 4 b, 1 to, win

Series:
Points - Porter 156, Stockton 86
Assists - Stockton 67, Porter 50
Steals - Stockton 8, Porter 6
Boards - Porter 24, Stockton 15
Turnovers - Porter 8, Stockton 20

Review - This is probably the first time that we see one of Stockton's competitors clearly outplay him. Stockton's numbers were down pretty much across the board while Porter played much better than the previous times he faced Stockton.

1993 - opening round vs. Seattle's Gary Payton

Game 1:
Stockton - .455 for 11, 7 a, 1 s, 1 b, 1 to, loss
Payton - .467 for 15, 1 a, 2 s, 6 b, 3 to, win

Game 2:
Stockton - .444 for 14, 12 a, 3 s, 3 b, 3 to, win
Payton - .583 for 19, 3 a, 4 s, 4 b, 1 to, loss

Game 3:
Stockton - .333 for 11, 10 a, 4 s, 3 b, 6 to, win
Payton - .100 for 2, 4 a, 2 s, 1 b, 1 to, loss

Game 4:
Stockton - .364 for 11, 15 a, 3 s, 2 b, 2 to, loss
Payton - .333 for 10, 6 a, 1 s, 5 b, 3 to, win

Game 5:
Stockton - .571 for 19, 11 a, 1 s, 1 b, 3 to, loss
Payton - .571 for 17, 7 a, 1 s, 0 b, 1 to, win

Series:
Points - Stockton 66, Payton 63
Assists - Stockton 55, Payton 21
Steals - Stockton 12, Payton 10
Boards - Payton 16, Stockton 10
Turnovers - Payton 9, Stockton 15

Review - Neither one of these guys was ever mistaken for a marksman. Steals is a virtual wash. Stockton distributed much better while Payton controlled the ball better and had more rebounds. It's very close and neither player gets embarrassed here, but I'd give Payton a slight nod even though Stockton leads more categories.

1994 - opening round vs. San Antonio's Vinny Del Negro

Game 1:
Stockton - .250 for 3, 8 a, 1 s, 2 b, 6 to, loss
Del Negro - .714 for 12, 5 a, 0 s, 2 b, 2 to, win

Game 2:
Stockton - .500 for 17, 5 a, 2 s, 3 b, 0 to, win
Del Negro - .400 for 7, 5 a, 0 s, 1 b, 2 to, loss

Game 3:
Stockton - .667 for 13, 12 a, 1 s, 5 b, 1 to, win
Del Negro - .240 for 4, 4 a, 1 s, 4 b, 1 to, loss

Game 4:
Stockton - .625 for 13, 18 a, 3 s, 0 b, 2 to, win
Del Negro - .429 for 6, 4 a, 0 s, 0 b, 1 to, loss

Series:
Points - Stockton 46, Del Negro 19
Assists - Stockton 43, Del Negro 18
Steals - Stockton 7, Del Negro 1
Boards - Stockton 10, Del Negro 7
Turnovers - Del Negro 6, Stockton 9

Review - Del Negro was more of a shooting guard than a point guard so none of us should be surprised that Stockton outplayed him so badly.

1994 - divisional round vs. Denver's Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf

Game 1:
Stockton - .385 for 17, 11 a, 2 s, 3 b, 3 to, win
Abdul-Rauf - .417 for 16, 5 a, 1 s, 2 b, 1 to, loss

Game 2:
Stockton - .333 for 12, 8 a, 2 s, 4 b, 4 to, win
Abdul-Rauf - .412 for 23, 1 a, 1 s, 2 b, 1 to, loss

Game 3:
Stockton - .579 for 24, 13 a, 1 s, 4 b, 1 to, win
Abdul-Rauf - .444 for 20, 3 a, 0 s, 2 b, 1 to, loss

Game 4:
Stockton - .700 for 19, 6 a, 2 s, 2 b, 3 to, loss
Abdul-Rauf - .200 for 6, 6 a, 0 s, 4 b, 1 to, win

Game 5:
Stockton - .389 for 18, 13 a, 3 s, 6 b, 7 to, loss
Abdul-Rauf - .429 for 22, 3 a, 0 s, 0 b, 1 to, win

Game 6:
Stockton - .500 for 17, 7 a, 2 s, 3 b, 2 to, loss
Abdul-Rauf - .400 for 9, 0 a, 0 s, 2 b, 1 to, win

Game 7:
Stockton - .222 for 6, 9 a, 0 s, 2 b, 1 to, win
Abdul-Rauf - .429 for 14, 2 a, 1 s, 2 b, 0 to, loss

Series:
Points - Abdul-Rauf 110, Stockton 96
Assists - Stockton 64, Abdul-Rauf 15
Steals - Stockton 12, Abdul-Rauf 4
Boards - Stockton 24, Abdul-Rauf 14
Turnovers - Abdul-Rauf 6, Stockton 21

Review - This was the last of Abdul-Rauf's two-year tenure as a full-time starting point guard, and as we can see here, he didn't really play like a point guard. He had a slight edge in shooting for a 7-game series, and (once again) turned the ball over less than Stockton, but Stockton did everything else quite a bit better.

1994 - Conference championship vs. Houston's Kenny Smith

Game 1:
Stockton - .385 for 11, 11 a, 4 s, 2 b, 2 to, loss
Smith - .643 for 27, 5 a, 3 s, 2 b, 0 to, win

Game 2:
Stockton - .545 for 18, 10 a, 1 s, 0 b, 2 to, loss
Smith - .600 for 10, 7 a, 1 s, 1 b, 3 to, win

Game 3:
Stockton - .400 for 13, 11 a, 1 s, 4 b, 3 to, win
Smith - .200 for 4, 3 a, 1 s, 2 b, 0 to, loss

Game 4:
Stockton - .500 for 17, 6 a, 2 s, 6 b, 2 to, loss
Smith - .533 for 25, 4 a, 0 s, 4 b, 2 to, win

Game 5:
Stockton - .316 for 13, 9 a, 0 s, 5 b, 2 to, loss
Smith - .333 for 8, 4 a, 1 s, 0 b, 1 to, win

Series:
Points - Smith 74, Stockton 72
Assists - Stockton 47, Smith 23
Steals - Stockton 8, Smith 6
Boards - Stockton 17, Smith 9
Turnovers - Smith 6, Stockton 11

Review - It had to be weird to be the point guard on a team where the other four starters (Maxwell, Horry, Thorpe, and Olajuwon) were some of the best passers at their positions in the league. People criticize Stockton and Malone for not going further considering they were supposed to be such superstars, but their teams were rarely more than two deep (depending on your opinion of guys like Mark Eaton and Jeff Hornacek, in which case they were three deep). This Rockets team had top-notch players at each starting position and had Sam Cassell and Mario Elie coming off the bench. Their 6th and 7th guys were probably better than the Jazz's 4th or 5th guys.

Anyway, scoring and steals is a push; rebounding for a PG is just gravy. Stockton owned Smith in assists but turned the ball over almost twice as much. It's another close one, so let's use rebounding as a tie-breaker and give it to Stockton ever so slightly.

1995 - opening round vs. Houston's Kenny Smith

Game 1:
Stockton - .632 for 28, 10 a, 2 s, 5 b, 6 to, win
Smith - .625 for 14, 5 a, 1 s, 1 b, 3 to, loss

Game 2:
Stockton - .231 for 12, 12 a, 1 s, 4 b, 3 to, loss
Smith - .769 for 32, 9 a, 0 s, 6 b, 3 to, win

Game 3:
Stockton - .400 for 11, 13 a, 1 s, 4 b, 2 to, win
Smith - .500 for 20, 5 a, 1 s, 1 b, 0 to, loss

Game 4:
Stockton - .611 for 26, 11 a, 1 s, 3 b, 2 to, loss
Smith - .500 for 13, 6 a, 0 s, 1 b, 3 to, win

Game 5:
Stockton - .286 for 12, 5 a, 2 s, 1 b, 1 to, loss
Smith - .286 for 8, 2 a, 0 s, 4 b, 3 to, win

Series:
Points - Stockton 89, Smith 84
Assists - Stockton 51, Smith 27
Steals - Stockton 7, Smith 2
Boards - Stockton 17, Smith 13
Turnovers - Smith 12, Stockton 14

Review - Seeing Stockton took four of the five categories in this matchup and was pretty close in the other, it seems safe to say he played better than his competitor in this series.

At this point, we are halfway through Stockton's career as a starter. We have seen him clearly outplayed in a series only once. Even in that instance, I doubt many would say he was "embarrassed" or "abused" by his competitor. There have been a few close ones, but only two or three reasonably go against him. Honestly, I didn't expect him to be faring this well. A player goes up against better talent more consistently in the playoffs, and it is only expected that some bad games or a bad series will happen along the way. The law of averages would suggest that even great players will get outplayed almost half the time. Stockton, at this point is performing at a much higher than average than that, although the Del Negros, Abdul Raufs, and Winston Garlands (not to mention an injured Gary Payton) of the world might be skewing those results.

Here are a couple of weaknesses that are apparent though:
First, although he could get hot, he was not a good scorer on a team that desperately needed a second or third scoring option. Optimally, your point guard wouldn't be that guy anyway, but the elite players adapt to be what they are needed to be.
Second, the turnovers are definitely an issue. The floor general should be an expert ball-handler and a precision passer, and his turnovers suggest he might not have been that. However, how many picks would the very best quarterbacks throw if they only had one receiver to throw to each down? With only one scoring option, all five defenders had to have known Stockton was most likely going to pass to the one guy on his team who could put it in the basket.

I want to get back to dissecting individual playoff series, but this might be a good time to investigate some other analytics. If the argument against Stockton is that he did not do well in the playoffs, let's look at his playoff numbers per 100 possessions compared to some of the other big-time point guards from around his era - Magic Johnson, Gary Payton, Jason Kidd, and Steve Nash.

Points
1. Nash 25.0
2. Magic 23.9
3. Payton 21.3
4. Stockton 20.4
5. Kidd 18.0

FG%
1. Magic .506
2t. Stockton and Nash .473
4. Payton .441
5. Kidd .391

Assists
1. Stockton 15.4
2. Magic 15.1
3. Nash 12.8
4. Kidd 11.1
5. Payton 10.9

Steals
1. Stockton 2.8
2. Kidd 2.7
3. Magic 2.3
4. Payton 2.1
5. Nash 0.8

Turnovers
1. Kidd 2.7
2. Payton 2.9
3. Stockton 4.3
4. Magic 4.5
5. Nash 4.6

Offensive Rating
1. Magic 122
2t. Stockton and Nash 116
4. Payton 107
5. Kidd 105

Defensive Rating
1. Kidd 103
2t. Stockton and Magic 107
4. Payton 108
5. Nash 114

Stockton is in the top two except in points (4th) and turnovers (3rd). If this guy crapped the bed in the playoffs, he did so no more than these other superstars point guards.

What is revealing is that Gary Payton finished behind Magic in both defensive rating and steals. Apparently we need to re-evaluate our opinions about both players' defensive abilities.

This is growing a bit tedious, and I think the point has been made. If necessary, I will keep going, but for now, I think I will turn my sites on someone else.