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One-two punch Stockton and Malone have thrived togetherPosted: Tuesday January 08, 2002 12:39 PMUpdated: Tuesday January 08, 2002 5:47 PM
The only proper way for Karl Malone and John Stockton to walk off into the sunset is together. My suspicion, though, is that it will not happen. Stockton, who turns 40 in March, will probably hang it up when his two-year deal runs out at the end of next season -- and he may quit when the current campaign comes to a close. Malone, however, who doesn't turn 39 until July, will almost certainly be around for two more seasons after this one. Why? For one reason and one reason only: to pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA's all-time leading scorer. Who can blame Malone? Though it seems incredible now, teams once questioned his intensity and competitiveness, which is why the Utah Jazz were able to get him at No. 12 in the 1985 draft, after such lone-gone luminaries as Benoit Benjamin, Kenny Green and Keith Lee. It took Malone a long time to lose that "I've-got-something-to-prove" chip on his shoulder and, to a certain extent, he still carries it around. Malone has been consistently productive -- except for his injury-plagued season of 1998-99, his lowest scoring average over the past 14 years was last season's 23.2 points per game -- he keeps himself in excellent physical shape and he's become such a master of low-post play that he would probably be able to score 15 a game when he's 50 years old. He won't have to stick around that long. But the road ahead of him, built primarily by Abdul-Jabbar's fluid skyhooks, is still a formidable one. I hate to talk about numbers because, at root, the game isn't about numbers. But let's make an exception here:
All this is wildly speculative, of course, and impossible to predict. The interesting thing is whether Stockton will be around to help his big buddy get the mark and, if he isn't, how much harder it will be for Malone to achieve it. It's conceivable that, if Stockton quits after this season, the Mailman would need three more years after this one to catch the Great Goggled One. That's how important Stockton has been to Malone's becoming one of the NBA's all-time scoring leaders. It's not as much fun to crunch assist numbers, but that is the only way to truly gauge Stockton's greatness.
Though we should never say never, one has to wonder if Stockton has set a standard that will never be approached, let alone broken. At the very least, let's not forget John Stockton as the end of his career approaches. Karl Malone, even if he never stands on top of that scoring mountain, sure won't. Sports Illustrated senior writer Jack McCallum covers the NBA beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. Click here to send a question to his NBA Mailbag. |
