His father is an NBA legend, and now Sam Stockton is starting out in basketball – in Karlsruhe. In an interview with baden24.de he reveals how this came about:
A real NBA legend in Karlsruhe? Sounds absurd, but it became reality for a few days in December last year. Was it really none other than John Stockton, point guard icon and best assist provider in NBA history, who got lost in the fan city in the dead of winter? But no: there was no question of being “lost” – Stockton’s visit had a good reason.
Since this season, his son Sam Stockton has been playing professional basketball in Karlsruhe: with the io College Wizards, the KIT SC basketball team that currently plays in the 1st Regionalliga Southwest. A name with appeal – even though son Sam still has a long way to go, he wants to follow in his world-famous father’s footsteps. John Stockton wasn’t the only US sports legend to visit the southwest in 2025 – in September, wrestling icon Bret Hart suddenly showed up at 1. FC Kaiserslautern.
NBA legend John Stockton in Karlsruhe: “He really enjoyed his time here”
John Stockton played in the NBA for 19 years, all 19 of them for the Utah Jazz. To this day, he holds almost unbelievable records in the best basketball league in the world: the most career assists (15,806) and the most career steals (3,265) – in both of which he is far ahead. It is more than unlikely that one of his children, all of whom, with one exception, have chosen the path of basketball players, will have a similar career. For them it is important to go their own way. Sam Stockton too.
The visit in December was a special moment for Sam – and apparently for his father too. “He really liked it here,” says Sam Stockton in an interview with baden24.de. “He was able to live with me, liked Karlsruhe, liked the league. He’s never experienced anything like that, but he just loves basketball. So he really enjoyed his time here.”
For John Stockton, who spent his entire career in the USA and lived “the NBA life,” as Sam calls it, German basketball was new territory. “He likes to share his experiences with me, but he also notices that a few things are different here. And he likes to learn that.” It is unlikely that it will be just this one visit. “He will definitely come back as long as I play here,” says Sam Stockton. “And a few of my siblings are coming over too – and my mom. There will be more Stocktons showing up in Karlsruhe.”
But what is it actually like to be the son of an NBA legend? Growing up with a last name that immediately evokes associations in the basketball world? Sam Stockton has a surprisingly relaxed answer to this.
“My older brothers looked up to him a lot more than I did,” he says. “I didn’t see my dad actively playing anymore – I especially saw my brothers. I was constantly in the hall with them, followed their training and their careers, saw how they learned from my father. In the end, I learned from both: my brothers and my dad, step by step.”
“I just wanted to keep the hoop dream alive.”
Pressure to follow in his father’s footsteps or to play basketball? According to Sam, it never existed. “There was never any pressure that I had to play basketball,” he emphasizes. “But I’ve loved the sport since I was a child. I realized that I wasn’t that bad – and I just stuck with it.”
The Wizards should help him on this path. It is the first professional stop in Stockton’s career after his time in the D-1 college leagues ended last year with the completion of his master’s degree. Now he is a full-time professional – and can concentrate entirely on the sport. “By the time my college career was over, I had accomplished everything I wanted academically,” Stockton says. “I just wanted to keep the ‘Hoop Dream’ alive.”
You can’t tell that he comes from a world in which some college athletes are better known than some Bundesliga stars in this country. It is certainly not the first time that media attention has been on him. Stockton is calm, thoughtful, humorous – all around likeable. For many Germans, an American straight out of a picture book.
Why Karlsruhe? “My brother still had contacts”
It’s no coincidence that Sam ended up in Karlsruhe after college: “My brother Michael also played in Karlsruhe in his first year after college. We visited him back then – I must have been around eleven years old – and I liked it here. Michael still had contacts and put me in touch with Zoran Seatovic (coach and managing director of the Wizards, editor’s note) and the KIT SC.”
The Stocktons have a special connection to Germany anyway: all five basketball-playing siblings played here. Michael started at BG Karlsruhe in 2011 and later made the jump to the Basketball Bundesliga. David also had a season in Germany, Lindsay played in the Regionalliga in 2016, and Laura won the German Cup twice with the TK Hannover Luchse. Now Sam continues the tradition.
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Despite the famous last name, he doesn’t put pressure on himself: “For me, it’s just about working hard and developing myself. I don’t have a specific league or country as my goal. I go wherever it takes me – the main thing is that I improve and keep my basketball career going.”
Sam has already proven that he has potential in his college years. In Karlsruhe he is now getting the playing time he needs. This season he is one of the best defensive players in the league – with the fourth most steals in the 1st Regionalliga Southwest, he shows what distinguished his father: anticipation, speed, commitment. Sam settled in surprisingly quickly away from the hall. “Germany as a whole has been a really cool experience so far,” he says. “Living alone is very different than living on a college campus, but I really enjoy it.”
One of his favorite places is the castle garden, which he visits regularly. He also enjoyed trips to the region: “I thought Heidelberg was great, and I’ve already been to Frankfurt, Strasbourg and Stuttgart – the whole area here is really exciting.” Heidelberg had an even more prominent basketball visit in 2025: As HEIDELBERG24 reported, Dirk Nowitzki paid an exclusive visit to the university town in March.
In his free time, he often plays pool with a teammate, calls home, or practices guitar in his apartment. A quiet, almost student life – far removed from the NBA glamor that the name Stockton is usually associated with.
Only basketball for the first time: “Now it’s just up to me”
In Karlsruhe, Sam Stockton can concentrate fully on basketball for the first time. “In the past, there was always a university, a thousand coaches who pushed you through everyday life,” he says. “Now it’s just up to me. I have to make sure I’m in the weight room, doing throwing training, eating right. I’ve never been so focused on my goals.”
This responsibility challenges him – but he accepts it. He not only wants to perform on the pitch, but also wants to grow as a leader. “As a point guard, I want to become a better leader,” Stockton said. “It’s not easy when you have to find your way around a new country and your teammates speak a different language. I want to become more self-confident and communicate more – even if I still sometimes look up to the older guys.”
“Schnitzel Stockton” – and the future
What he likes about Germany isn’t just the league and lifestyle. “I like the beer here – Augustiner is pretty good,” Stockton says, laughing. “And I’m a big Schnitzel fan. At the beginning, my coach and teammates even called me ‘Schnitzel Stockton’.” The nickname has become less common, but the love for schnitzel remains – just like the love for basketball. It remains to be seen whether his path will keep him in Germany in the long term.
For Sam it is clear: As long as the “Hoop Dream” continues, he is ready to go wherever it takes him. Currently it’s Karlsruhe – a city that gives him more than just playing time: a new home, new experiences and the chance to go his own way. And who knows: Maybe in a few years the name Stockton will be associated not only with the NBA, but also with the fan city. (yk)
