Chris Paul has a new place in the NBA record book.
With a pass to Harrison Barnes on Sunday night, the San Antonio Spurs point guard tied Jason Kidd for second all-time on the NBA’s assists list. With a subsequent pass to Victor Wembanyma, he passed Kidd for the 12,092nd assist of his career.
Paul reached the mark in the second quarter against the New Orleans Pelicans. With 7:06 left in the quarter, Paul looked at Wembanyama on the left wing. Wembanyama stepped up from beyond the 3-point arc and hit the shot to cut New Orleans’ lead to 49-45.
In a season where Paul was acquired to help develop the NBA’s most promising young star, it was fitting that Paul reached the milestone Sunday night with a move to Wembanyama.
Paul, who led the NBA in assists in five different seasons, now trails only the famous John Stockton on the all-time assists list. He has a long way to go to catch up with the Utah Jazz in a big way. Stockton retired as basketball’s assist king with 15,086, a record that Paul, 39, does not plan to challenge.
Paul continues to produce in his 20th NBA season. In 23 games before Sunday, Paul was averaging 10.4 points, 8.5 assists and 3.9 rebounds while shooting 43.3% from the field and 35.3% from 3-point range.
Next, Paul looks at Kidd’s place on another all-time list. Paul is behind Kidd for second place on the all-time steals list. Paul entered Sunday’s game with 2,646 steals, 38 behind Kidd’s personal tally of 2,684. Paul, a six-time steals champion, is averaging 1.4 steals per game this season and projects to surpass Kidd this season if he stays healthy.
Just like on the assist list, Stockton has a steals record that won’t be questioned anytime soon. Stockton retired with 3,265 steals, 581 ahead of Kidd’s second-place mark.