Comparing OKC Thunder point guard Chris Paul to Hall of Fame and former Jazz star John Stockton. TI tackles the debate of who is the better All-Time point guard.
How does OKC Thunder point guard Chris Paul fare against John Stockton? Who’s the better player among the major point guard criteria, join me as I tackle a topic that is bound to open the debate among fans.
Chris Paul or John Stockton?
The newest member of the OKC Thunder is Chris Paul who replaces Russell Westbrook as the starting point guard. Paul is considered one of the greatest point guards of All-Time already. In my humble opinion, he also bears an abundance of similarities to John Stockton.
They are both considered gritty, astute playmaking, point guards. Both are renowned for their ingenious court vision and stout defense. One of the biggest similitudes I noticed is that John Stockton and Chris Paul also are often underrated because neither has won a championship.
Why am I comparing the two? In an older episode on the CWTC Podcast, the crew was split in half when Tony and Will loudly exclaimed, that John Stockton had a better career than Chris Paul. They also explained that Stockton was a better overall player than Chris Paul.
This initially triggered me, forcing me to show my bias as I’ve always venerated Paul’s brilliance on the court. From my perspective, Chris Paul’s offensive scoring ability exceeded the capabilities of John Stockton’s.
But, who is right? The answer isn’t automatic, so let’s dive into the comparison to see if we can make the answer clearer.
| Rk | Player | From | To | G | MP | FG% | 3P% | eFG% | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Paul | 2006 | 2019 | 950 | 35.1 | .469 | .370 | .518 | .868 | 4.5 | 9.7 | 2.2 | 18.5 |
| 2 | John Stockton* | 1985 | 2003 | 1504 | 31.8 | .515 | .384 | .546 | .826 | 2.7 | 10.5 | 2.2 | 13.1 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/21/2019.
Looking at their stats heads up, it appears their career numbers aren’t dramatically dissimilar from one another. What makes Chris Paul a worthy adversary for John Stockton you ask? Well isn’t it obvious?