SALT LAKE CITY -- It was practically torture for John Stockton, sitting there through more than an hour of accolades and standing ovations. Almost reluctantly, Stockton sat through a 90-minute retirement celebration on June 7 that nearly filled the Delta Center and drew more than a few tears.

	John Stockton and Karl Malone were teammates for 18 productive seasons.

"Now that it's over, it's great. It was kind of like a hard workout," Stockton said after the ceremony. Stockton, known throughout his 19-year career for his modesty, admitted he would have much rather gone off into retirement quietly, but Jazz owner Larry Miller and Stockton's wife, Nada, talked him in to agreeing to the emotional event.

The celebration drew former teammates and NBA commissioner David Stern, who took a detour on his way to New Jersey for Saturday's NBA finals game to give Stockton a proper send-off.

"It's emotional and I don't really like to go there a lot,'' Stockton said. "All those people there, I try not to pay a lot of attention."

Stockton announced two days after the season ended that he was through playing, but could not bring himself to say he was retiring. The word retirement didn't surface again Saturday, but the NBA career leader in steals and assists said he was quite certain he was sticking with his decision.

"You don't know the agony it took to get to that point. Once I reached that point, I was sure, even if it didn't come out very well," he said. "As much fun as this ended up being, I don't think I want to do this again."

Stockton, who cut his retirement announcement short when his emotions started to overwhelm him, had tears in his eyes before he even hit the court.

He wasn't alone. Coach Jerry Sloan, known for being gruff and not exactly warm, struggled to fight off tears during a short speech, as did longtime teammate Karl Malone.

"I hope and I pray people here realize a couple things. There absolutely, positively will never ever be another John Stockton. Ever," Malone said as the crowd rose to its feet for one of several standing ovations. "He gave me more than I gave him. I want to say this. On behalf of my family to your family. We love you and I'm going to miss you."

Malone, who was still wiping away tears in a news conference afterward, said he had not decided whether he will return to the Jazz next season or leave as a free agent. Malone said it was Stockton's night and he didn't feel it was right to talk about his future.

"I'm not really thinking about anything else right now," said Malone, who is the second-leading scorer in NBA history due largely to Stockton's passing precision.

	John Stockton finished his career with a record 15,086 assists.

The Jazz called the send-off Stockton's second-to-last official appearance at the Delta Center. The last will be to hang Stockton's No. 12 from the rafters of an arena that already has two banners commemorating Stockton's status as the career leader in assists (15,086) and steals (3,265) in his 1,504 games.

"You laced them up 1,504 times and you laid it all out there 1,504 times," Miller said. "This is a day that we always knew would come but always hoped wouldn't."

The ceremony itself ran about a half hour long and ended with Stockton showing a humorous side rarely seen by Jazz fans. Stockton reminisced about holding out as a rookie for an extra $5,000 before signing and even poked fun at his trademark shorts that remained shorter than anyone else's in the league until the very end.

"I haven't changed a thing. I haven't even changed the length of my shorts," he quipped.

After a 10-minute video compilation of some of Stockton's career highlights, he was introduced to a booming ovation and fireworks while Tina Turner's "Simply The Best" blared through the arena. Stockton's eyes were teary before he reached the small stage set up in front of the scorers' table and he turned and waived to the crowd for several minutes as the cheering continued.

A congratulatory letter from President Bush was read. Gov. Mike Leavitt, who was in Washington but was represented by his wife, declared Saturday "John Stockton Day" and Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson thanked him for 19 years in the community and gave him a key to the city.

Salt Lake County Mayor Nancy Workman presented Stockton with a street sign and announced that the block west of the arena was renamed John Stockton Way.

Stern said Stockton would be getting a gift from the league, a DVD set of highlights from his 182 playoff games. "Thank you for gracing our court, and if you change your mind you don't have to give the (DVDs) back," Stern said. "If you don't change your mind, please invite me to the Hall of Fame induction ceremony."