He does miss the competition.

And the bus rides.

At Friday morning's Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame jacket presentation ceremony, somebody asked Stockton what he has missed most since retirement in 2003.

"What I miss about the game," he said, "are the games."

Those attending the ceremony laughed, extracting an explanation from Stockton.

"That sounds simple, but it's the truth," he said. "... I had the opportunity to play against the best people in the world every night and that's what I miss because you can't ever duplicate that."

Does Stockton have a favorite memory?

Perhaps his famous three-pointer in Game 6 of the 1997 Western Conference finals at Houston, which put Utah into the Finals for the first time?

Perhaps the 1993 All-Star Game, when he shared MVP honors with Karl Malone?

Perhaps the night he passed Magic Johnson to become the NBA's all-time assist leader?

"Certainly there are plays I remember and certain victories that I remember," he said. "But the thing that is closer to my heart, I guess, are the bus rides."

Huh?

"Going to and from the games," Stockton said. "Usually from the games, actually. Going to the games, it was always pretty quiet. But coming back from the games, we had a lot of fun."

In the back of a bus that is rolling down darkened city streets, Stockton said, "You get to know your teammates -- the type of people they are. You have some great conversations, and that's something else you can't duplicate."

Back in the day, reporters who covered NBA teams were often allowed to hitch rides on the team bus.

I did it hundreds of times over the years -- even after Jerry Sloan took over from Frank Layden as coach of the Jazz in 1988.

When it happened, I wondered if Sloan would allow the practice to continue.

He did, but only after pulling then- Deseret News sports writer Kurt Kragthorpe and I aside one day and making sure we knew the ground rules.

Sloan said he didn't mind if we kept riding the bus, as long as we understood that it was off-limits as far as being a place to gather news.

In others words, what happens there, stayed there.

Since I hated the idea of standing in rent-a-car lines, fighting big-city traffic and navigating my way from airports to hotels to arenas and back to airports, I readily agreed to Sloan's Law.

In over 20 years, I have never written anything about those bus rides.

Until now.

Figuring that the statute of limitations on Sloan's request must have expired now, I offer a rare peek into the world that Stockton remembers with so much fondness.

One night after a game -- I don't remember exactly where or when -- the Jazz players boarded their bus for a ride back to their hotel. I took my usual seat, third row on the right, and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Finally, Stockton asked for the source of the delay. Told that TV producer Brian Douglas was having a hard time securing needed tapes of the game, Stockton pretended to be enraged.

"Forget Brian," he said. "Let's go. He can get a cab."

Stockton continued to badger Sloan and the bus driver for 10 minutes before Douglas finally arrived.

With impeccable comedic timing, Stockton saw him get aboard and said, "I've been holding the bus for you Brian. These other guys wanted to leave you, but not me."

Stockton's teammates roared.

Like he said: small moments, good memories.

luhm@sltrib.com