(credit: Sam Forencich / NBAE)
A true legend at the post of leader, John Stockton was notably known to be a metronome of the courts. It seems, however, that he was particularly spoiled by nature … Indeed, recent revelations report a completely crazy bug about his physique.
When it comes to longevity at the highest level in the NBA, several names come to mind. LeBron James is certainly the standard in the matter currently, but Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Robert Parish, Gary Payton or Karl Malone are not left out. This is also true for the master in the field: a certain John Stockton.
From 1984 to 2003, in an NBA career that saw him play from 22 to 40 years old, the leader of the Jazz played 1,504 regular season games (5th highest total in history), to which must be added 182 games of playoffs, spread over 36 series. All with a consistently substantial playing time.
Injuries and load-management? Very little for Stockton, who has played every game in 17 of his 19 seasons at the top level! A stat that makes you dizzy, especially in a current NBA focused on load management, which asks questions. Part of the answer lies in an anomaly in the ringleader’s body, revealed by a Deseret News article:
Stockton is probably uniquely designed not to tire out. From a purely clinical point of view, it is a mystery even to doctors. His heart rate at rest is 35 beats per minute, half of a healthy “normal” man! This quality alone allows him to recover at the slightest stop, where other players have to take time-outs or go out.
His body fat is 4%, as much as Karl Malone and similar to that of world-class cyclists. His cardiovascular system, his lung capacity and his blood pressure are far superior to those of an average person, and superior to those of most athletes.
This explains how John Stockton has survived the years without ever giving up or almost, becoming in the process the all-time leader of the NBA in assists and successful interceptions. And his ex-teammate in Gonzaga Jeff Condill to drive the point home, like a last snub to us mortals who undergo the laws of fatigue and wear and tear:
He never sweats.
Blessed by the gods, John Stockton took maximum advantage of the extraordinary qualities of his body. Impressive.
