Copyright sportskeeda
Washington Wizards wing Corey Kispert shared his experience training with basketball Hall of Famer John Stockton. During a segment of "Off The Bench", Kispert mentioned how he used to attend Stockton's training camp. Like other NBA legends, Stockton is one of the few Hall of Famers who wants to share his knowledge of the game with the next generation. While gaining knowledge and much-needed experience was the Wizards guard's intention heading into Stockton's training sessions, he got more than just wisdom. Apparently, John Stockton is one of the meanest and toughest mentors in the industry today. Corey Krispert said that he would walk out on his players and close the gym if he thought things weren't going as expected. Kispert then added how Stockton didn't let his players warm up and just went straight into drills and scrimmages. "The moment things start getting nasty and bad, (John Stockton) will walk on the court and grab the ball and turn the lights out and leave," Kispert shared. "He would run you ragged. The first thing he would tell you when you walk into the gym, we would get started immediately. There was no get shots up, get warm, get loose, stretch."The time when John Stockton didn't believe in Michael Jordan's last danceJohn Stockton is one of the greatest players of all time. While he was never able to win a ring in his career, he did do battle in the NBA Finals in back-to-back seasons against Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. In 1997 and 1998, Stockton's Utah Jazz took on the Bulls, wherein Chicago completed their historic second three-peat.After the Bulls concluded their historic run, Jordan decided to call it quits and said that it was his last dance with head coach Phil Jackson and the rest of the core team. However, Stockton didn't buy into the idea and called it a bluff.“He’s not quitting,” Stockton said of Jordan at the time. “He’ll be back, and Scottie will be back and Phil Jackson will be back. I’m tired of hearing all of that. As long as he decides to play, you have to wonder if there’s any reason for the rest of us to play. It’s not a matter of being disheartened, but you know that as long as he’s breathing, he will not let his team lose."Five seasons later, John Stockton called it quits and decided to retire from the NBA in 2003. Since then, Stockton has gone quiet in his career. While he did coach several youth teams in his hometown, he never got himself involved in the NBA in other form.
