Charlie Villanueva picks John Stockton over Ja Morant: 'It's not even close'

Raymond Felton: ‘I’m going with what Patrick Beverley said.’ Charlie Villanueva: ‘As a point guard, if you want to win, and you want to like… for me, I know when that flow, he’s going to find you. I'd rather have Stockton on my team. I'm going Stockton. I'm going Stockton. And it's not even close.' 

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Raymond Felton: ‘I’m going with what Patrick Beverley said.’ Charlie Villanueva: ‘As a point guard, if you want to win, and you want to like… for me, I know when that flow, he’s going to find you. I'd rather have Stockton on my team. I'm going Stockton. I'm going Stockton. And it's not even close.' — 8/20/2026 YouTube

Raymond Felton: Ja Morant is frying John Stockton's ass. Charlie Villanueva: In one-on-one? Felton: You understand me? Villanueva: John Stockton was a defender. He led the League in steals! What are we talking about?! — 8/20/2026 YouTube

During a recent episode of "The Pat Bev Show," former NBA player Patrick Beverley boldly claimed he would pick Ja Morant ahead of NBA legend and arguably the greatest pure point guard of all time, John Stockton. Although such a statement could be deemed blasphemous, Beverley justified it by stating: "Some people go John Stockton. I'm going Ja Morant. Some people go John Stockton because he's an actual point guard. He's going to get the ball where it needs to be. He's going to be heavy on the pocket pass. He's going to be a great leader. That's cool. Ja Morant is running circles around John Stockton's a–. Straight up. He's going to be jumping over John Stockton's a–.""I'm talking about the Stockton with the little shorts that was playing against Michael Jordan and them. I'm a huge Stockton fan. He played against the greatest ever. He did compete. I'm not taking that away from him. As a better player, a lot of people would take John Stockton. I'm taking Ja Morant." — 8/20/2026 Yahoo! Sports

Ben Golliver: Star homecoming games in 2026-27 NBA season - Trae Young's Wizards at Hawks: Nov. 6- Paul George's Celtics at 76ers: Nov. 10 - Tyler Herro's Bucks at Bam Adebayo's Heat: Nov. 18 - LeBron James's 76ers at Lakers: Dec. 25 - Jaylen Brown's 76ers at Celtics: Jan. 21 - Giannis Antetokounmpo's Heat at Bucks: Jan. 28 - Ja Morant's Blazers at Grizzlies: Feb. 6 - LaMelo Ball's Timberwolves at Hornets: Feb. 15 — 8/13/2026 Twitter @BenGolliver

Iman Shumpert: ‘I’m so excited for him to start this journey in Portland. I want him to prove everybody wrong so bad. It make me so angry and it's in retrospect, but it's like, out of anybody that's need to have one, y'all don't think he would like, just the audacity of the state when people are like, what is he ever going for? I'm like, bro, they making $200 million a year. Like, in three years, they going to have $200 million. Like, you don't think he going to have a firearm to defend himself? I'm like, a security guard will rob him. It's all security. Like, what? Like, it's a lot of money, so it's perspective wise, I just, yeah, he did a dumb thing by going on the internet with it. But it's like, I just want him to be able to write the wrong, not even off the court, but on the court, to be healthy and doing the thing that it's like, this is what got him in this situation.’ — 8/1/2026 YouTube

Ja Morant: bro you doing bad , better get some help — 7/27/2026 x.com

Nick DePaula: Ja Morant is expanding his Nike signature series — launching the “Twelve Time” sneaker in September for just $90. “Growing up, not everybody could always get the top shoe,” said @JaMorant . "So making something at a lower price point was important. I want more kids to be able to wear my stuff, hoop in it, feel like they part of it.” — 7/23/2026 x.com

I asked Brooks afterward what we need to understand about Morant, what should we know about him? He said we should understand he is an amazing teammate, one who organizes team dinners and looks after young players. And Brooks said Portland will fall in love with him, not only because he is an electric player, but also because he pours out what is poured in. “I would say treat him as he was your son, your brother, your uncle or family,” Brooks said. “Because you will get a lot more back from him.” Morant already seems open to an extended embrace with Portland and Oregon. He talked Saturday about his newfound love of nature. In his home state of South Carolina this summer, he has been biking, kayaking and fishing. — 7/15/2026 New York Times

In relation to this, Portland head coach Micah Nori stands convinced that Ja Morant will live up to his words, as he believes that the star guard will be fully committed to the team's benefit and for the sake of winning. "Well, I don't know," Nori said on SiriusXM NBA Radio about Morant's comments about his role in the Trail Blazers. "I take people at their word. You can say it, and if it has to come to that, I'll say, 'Hey, you said you didn't care,' number one. But the second thing is, I really believe guys like Ja, Dame [Lillard], and Jrue [Holiday] that have been through it and been around want to win. "Winning is the most important thing. If you can put yourself in a position to do that, whether it's coming off the bench or starting, as long as you get your minutes, I would never say it's easy." — 7/13/2026 BasketNews

Ben Golliver: Ja Morant still adjusting to life with the Portland Trail Blazers after the trade from the Memphis Grizzlies. “Oh my God, I signed with the number 12!” — 7/11/2026 x.com

This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Charlie Villanueva picks John Stockton over Ja Morant: 'It's not even close'

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