San Antonio Spurs guard Chris Paul moved into second place on the NBA’s all-time assists list against the New Orleans Pelicans, the franchise where his 20-year career began.
The 39-year-old Paul collected his 12,092nd assist on a triple by Victor Wembanyama with 7:06 left in the first half of Sunday’s game, a 121-116 victory for the Spurs.
Paul passed Hall of Fame member Jason Kidd on the all-time list. John Stockton is the league leader with 15,806 career assists in 19 seasons, all with the Utah Jazz. Paul finished with 10 assists, for a total of 12,099 in 1,296 games, with more to come.
After failing to collect an assist in the first quarter against New Orleans, Paul collected three assists in the first five minutes of the second quarter to reach the milestone.
‘Yeah, it’s crazy,’ Paul said of the milestone after Friday’s loss to Sacramento. ‘I mean, five years ago I saw that number and it was like, ‘Man, are you going to play long enough to do that?’ Really.
‘I mean, I remember being a starter, I’ve said it before, looking up at Utah, seeing John Stockton, the best player ever for steals and assists. So, yeah, it’s a little crazy. I mean, I’m grateful for the opportunity to keep playing.’
Paul played four seasons in New Orleans, when the franchise was known as the Hornets, after being selected with the fourth pick in the 2005 NBA Draft. He was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers, where he spent six seasons before moving on to Houston, Oklahoma City, Phoenix and Golden State before signing with San Antonio in the offseason.
After coming mainly off the bench with the Warriors last season, this season Paul is averaging 10.4 points, 8.5 assists and 3.9 rebounds as a starter for the Spurs.
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