When the Utah Jazz were suffering significant injuries to their point guard front with Dante Exum hurt, Ricky Rubio in and out of the lineup while battling a sore hamstring, and Raul Neto caught in the limbo of concussion protocol, the Utah Jazz went to a familiar name to provide some quality point guard depth just in case things got worse: Stockton.
The name of Stockton in Utah is just about as revered as a deity or prophet. So when the Utah Jazz signed David Stockton, the son of John Stockton, it brought a wave of nostalgia and good feelings in a season already riding the wave of a miracle comeback. While David Stockton didn’t play many minutes—Stockton’s time on the court was seen as a victory cigar in blowout situations—his time in Utah felt like a necessary good omen for the Utah Jazz’s playoff chances. Like good karma, having a Stockton around one of the best Utah Jazz seasons in years felt right.
David Stockton wasn’t a slouch in G-league either. While with the Reno Bighorns, the 4 year G-League player averaged 16.3 points, 1.7 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 1.7 steals a game while shooting 40% from downtown. That shooting from downtown helped provide Jazz fans with his memorable 3 pointer during the regular season. Was it in garbage time? Yes. But that doesn’t make it any less special.
Will he be with Utah next season? Possibly. With Raul Neto hitting free agency, the Utah Jazz could be looking for a third string point guard who can step up if injuries do occur—who are we kidding?—when injuries do occur next season. While David Stockton was a feel good signing to Utah, he might prove to be a valuable piece to Utah next season.
David Stockton
Average GPA: Incomplete
Grade: Incomplete
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Grade Notes from the SLC Dunk Staff
Mychal Lowman: David Stockton was the Utah Jazz’s victory cigar in blowouts. While his signing brought warm fuzzies, there were better G-League free agents available. Dennis Lindsey has been pretty good at identifying talent, so maybe we see something more from this signing in the offseason and next season.
James Hansen: There was nothing cooler than seeing Stockton’s name called again during a Jazz game. It was also cool to see John inside the arena again. Stockton earns an A for keeping Jazz fans happy during blowouts.
Taylor Griffin: HE’S JOHN’S SON, THAT’S AN AUTOMATIC A.
Andy Bailey: David Stockton also gets my zero/incomplete. I’m tempted to bump him up simply for the bench celebrations.
Kaleb Searle: The Stockton story was fun, but... Shrug.
Tavan Parker: His last name is Stockton, which is an automatic passing grade. Unfortunately he’s just a little too small to be much more than an end-of-bench player in the league.
Jason Walker: He was worth the money the Millers paid for the nostalgia Stockton provided. His on-court production was not.
Jordan Cummings: The Son of the Point God. Instant fan favorite and he seemed like a great teammate. He was always the first one off the bench to celebrate with and congratulate teammates after a timeout. He’s not the most skilled player, but he’s a great bench presence. If Neto doesn’t stay, I think Utah keeps Stockton as their emergency point guard.
Diana: Stockton was a great feel good story for the Jazz. I will always remember his John like 3 in Minnesota.
Sam Goodrich: How do you not give the home town hero’s kid an A? He seemed to be a great teammate, he accomplished just about everything we needed from him.
Nathan de la Cruz: Incomplete. It was fun to have a son of John Stockton on the team, but not a big enough sample size to judge what he did on the court this season. It would be cool to have him for a complete season and see what he could do with more minutes.