"Kids now are made in labs" - John Stockton on the most significant difference in young players' development in today's era and during his time

Yahoo

23-06-2025

"Kids now are made in labs" - John Stockton on the most significant difference in young players' development in today's era and during his time originally appeared on Basketball Network.
John Stockton's path from Spokane gym rat to NBA legend is a story rooted in a very different era of basketball development, one where learning came from pickup games, not private trainers or viral highlight clips. Reflecting on the changing culture of the sport, Stockton is quick to note the stark contrast between his upbringing and the way kids are molded today.
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"Now, kids are made in labs. And so it's kind of hard to teach, you know, just the nuances of the game that you get into playing," he said on a podcast with Adam Morisson.
How battling older players shaped Stockton
For Stockton, basketball was a nightly adventure, not a scheduled workout.
"Absolutely. No, in my front yard, my brother, if I could talk him into playing, those were always bloody messes and I was always unsuccessful," Stockton recalls. "And then, sneak in down at Gonzaga and play against college students and did that every night. I'd do that after practices. So we'd practice at prep. Pat Clark was there with Terry Irwin. And after practice, I'd go home and eat dinner and I'd go sneak in with the students down at GU and just play," he revealed.
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Stockton's basketball education was built on trial, error and the humility of getting his ass kicked by older and stronger players.
The modern game, he observes, is dominated by structured skill sessions, trainers and curated social media moments.
"Kids work out, which is fine, but also, they don't, you don't play against older people. You don't understand what your weaknesses really are, how you get by them. And so, I'm always just like, go find it, go find a run. But then also, there's not really been as many runs as there used to be," he explains.
"But it's the hardest thing to teach kids. You got to go play against older people, get your ass kicked and you figure out kind of like how to survive without a doubt," he said.
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Stockton's formative years were a tapestry of pickup battles, late-night gym sessions and solo shooting when no one else showed up.
"There are a lot of Friday nights when everybody's out doing other things, but I would just go down and hope that somebody be down there realistically and end up shooting by myself. So a little bit of a weird kid, maybe in that regard, but I did love it," he said. For him, the game was more than just a repetition of drills.
Related: Lance Stephenson explains why Carmelo won't play against Michael Beasley 1-on-1: "Nobody wants to lose their stripes"
What today's youth basketball is missing
Today's youth basketball scene, Stockton notes, is missing that raw, unfiltered education. The culture has shifted toward individual skill-building and highlight-chasing, often at the expense of learning how to compete, improvise and lead on the fly.
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"It's kind of hard to teach, you know, the just the nuances of the game that you get into playing," he says. The result, he worries, is a generation of players who may have polished moves but lack the instincts and adaptability that only come from battling older, smarter opponents.
Stockton's message is clear - the best development doesn't happen in a lab or a private gym but in the crucible of real competition. For Stockton, that's where greatness is forged, not in the spotlight but in the shadows of empty gyms, chasing the next run and learning the game the hard way.
Related: "Come to work, do my job, and go home without anybody fu*king with me" - A Jazz official describes Stockton's mentality throughout his NBA career
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 23, 2025, where it first appeared.