The Tape
Was John Stockton better than Michael Jordan?
John Stockton, 1984-2003, against Michael Jordan, 1984-2003. The numbers levelled to one league, then the call.
Method, stated plainly: scoring is adjusted to a league averaging 114 points per team per game. Rebounds and assists are printed as they were recorded, with the league scoring rate beside them, because a rebound in 1962 came out of a different number of missed shots and we will not pretend one multiplier fixes that. Career lines for active players run through 2024-25.
What the numbers say
Adjusted to a league averaging 114 points a game, Michael Jordan is the bigger scorer: 36.9 a game in 1987-88 against 18.3 for John Stockton in 1989-90. That is a real gap of 18.6 points, not an era illusion — Michael Jordan's league averaged 108.2 and John Stockton's averaged 107.
Michael Jordan wins the glass by 2.9 rebounds a game (5.5 to 2.6), which in his era meant standing in traffic rather than waiting for a long one.
John Stockton is the passer: 14.5 assists a game to 5.9, and that is the difference between running an offense and finishing one.
John Stockton: The all-time leader in assists and steals, by margins that will not be closed this century. Michael Jordan: The highest career scoring average ever, 6 titles in 6 Finals, and a Defensive Player of the Year award in the middle of it.
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