SALT LAKE CITY, May 2 (UPI) -- Utah Jazz guard John Stockton, the NBA's all-time leader in assists and steals, announced his retirement Friday.
He told his teammates of his decision at the end of a season-ending meeting.
Stockton, 41, had considered retirement after each of the last two seasons but had made the decision to return late in the summer after consulting with his family.
Less than 48 hours after Utah was eliminated from the first round of the playoffs for the third straight year, Stockton told owner Larry Miller and Coach Jerry Sloan that he was leaving the game.
"I think that it is time for me to move on," Stockton said.
Stockton leaves with a long, impressive resume that includes 10 All-Star berths and a pair of Olympic medals. It is a bit incomplete as it is missing a championship, although not for lack of effort.
"I'm sure there are people that have won championships that haven't had to work very hard at it, and we worked very hard and haven't done it," he said Wednesday night. "Yet I feel a lot of reward out of the effort that it took to compete for that."
Stockton's retirement could create a ripple effect. He is synonymous with teammate Karl Malone, with whom he teamed for the last 18 years.
Malone, 39, becomes a free agent July 1 and said Wednesday that Stockton's decision would have an impact on his own. It is believed Malone wants to keep playing, although he may move elsewhere in pursuit of the all-time scoring record and an elusive championship.
The departure of one of the NBA's greatest duos would begin a massive rebuilding plan. Sloan, who has the longest current tenure of any coach in the four major pro sports, may not want to be part of that.
"I hope he stays," Stockton said. "He is a great man. He is great for this game, for this league."
Regardless of what happens, the Jazz will be looking for a point guard for the first time in nearly two decades.
From his short shorts to his flashless game, Stockton was a throwback in every sense of the word. As the NBA became more athletic, Stockton continued to confound foes with uncanny fundamental skills.
Despite being just 6-1 and 175 pounds, Stockton displayed stunning durability during his career. His 1,504 games are third all-time and he missed just 22 games in 19 seasons.
But Stockton did not just play. He played exceedingly well. Always a good shooter, he developed into a dependable scorer and a dangerous three-point threat. He averaged 13.1 points per game and shot 51.5 percent in his career.
However, Stockton was at his best as a playmaker and defender. He won nine straight assists titles from 1988-96 and won a pair of steals titles during that span. His career totals of 15,806 assists and 3,265 steals make him the runaway leader in each category.
Stockton also is the author of the two most famous plays in Jazz franchise history.
He vaulted Utah into the NBA Finals for the first time with his buzzer-beating jumper against Houston in the 1997 Western Conference finals. In the next series, he burned Michael Jordan with a football-style heave to Malone for a game-clinching layup that became known in Jazz lore as "The Pass."
But Stockton and the Jazz were unable to topple Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in 1997 or 1998 and the team is now closer to the lottery than the Finals.
