John Stockton reacts to Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl LIX halftime show

After widespread debate over the success level of Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl LIX halftime performance, John Stockton has finally weighed in.

Many have dubbed Lamar’s performance a massive success, with it breaking Michael Jackson’s longstanding record for most-watched Super Bowl halftime show. Many others, however, were left confused by the performance, considering it one of the worst halftime shows in Super Bowl history. Lamar’s defenders accuse his detractors of missing out on the performance’s symbolism and messaging. Which means they also probably missed out on Lamar’s Johns Stockton shoutout.

Watching the Super Bowl with my family, we anticipated Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance of ‘Not Like Us.’ Hearing my name mentioned was interestring. Proudly rooted for the Eagles for personal reasons. pic.twitter.com/7U5TodcL21

— The Ultimate Assist Podcast (@ultimate_assist) February 13, 2025

“It’s too many options, I’m finna pass on this body, I’m John Stockton,” Lamar says during the song Not Like Us.

And on a recent episode of The Ultimate Assist Podcast, the Basketball Hall-of-Famer said the Stocktons were ready for it.

“I knew of the song,” Stockton admitted. “I have young people in my life, my kids all know about this song and we frankly knew it was coming. So everybody was kind of huddled around the TV to see if my name got mentioned at halftime of a Super Bowl, which it did.”

“My wife’s phone started ringing kind of incessantly after that,” Stockton said. “She spent the rest of the game texting back and forth for all the people that saw it so apparently it was a big deal.”

Considering all of its critics, bet you weren’t expecting John Stockton to have such nice things to say about the Super Bowl LIX halftime show. Lamar’s performance of Not Like Us garnered a lot of attention across the sports and entertainment world for being part of his ongoing feud with Drake, and featuring a cameo from Serena Williams. But the Stockton household had its own reasons for taking interest in the Grammy-winning record.