Franchise icon John Stockton has sharp criticism of Jazz

Legendary Utah Jazz point guard John Stockton had some critical things to say about his former team in a new interview.

Stockton appeared on “The Ultimate Assist” podcast and was asked if he still kept up with how the Jazz are doing. The legendary guard said he did not pay close attention, and was not exactly complimentary of the organization.

“I haven’t been tracking them. I know that there doesn’t seem to be a mission to win,” Stockton said. “If that’s true, that’s frustrating, because I think that culture is so hard to come by. I knew how hard it was for the Utah Jazz to become a winning organization to begin with, and I came in on the tail end of that. I got to build from that with my teammates.

“I wouldn’t give up that fight to try to win every single game, every single quarter, for anything — for draft choices, for future anything. Because the future, it moves.”

The Jazz have been criticized in recent years for tanking, and they bottomed out at 17-65 last season. Team executives have asserted that things will be changing this season, but many are still skeptical of that.

Stockton spent his entire 19-year NBA career with the Jazz and still holds the NBA records for career assists and steals. He was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.

There are a lot of things Stockton dislikes about the modern NBA. Tanking is obviously one of them, and seeing the only team he ever played for doing it clearly does not sit well with him.