We are just a few weeks into the NBA season and another milestone has been set by a future Hall of Famer. Chris Paul added another accolade to his illustrious career moving up to third-all time in assists passing Mark Jackson and Suns legend Steve Nash during Phoenix's 112-100 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans Tuesday night.
Paul, who was named to the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team, finished the night with a season-high 18 assists. With a little more than a minute left in the second quarter, Paul notched his 10,336-career assist on a 3-pointer made by Jae Crowder to pass Nash for sole possession of third-place.
The only two players that stand in Paul’s way of becoming the all-time assist leader are John Stockton (15,806) and Jason Kidd (12,901). The 36-year-old point guard is not just grateful for achieving a new milestone, but is happy to still be in the league.
“I'm grateful and I thank God for this opportunity," Paul said. "I say it all the time, not only to be on a team and still be in the league but to still be playing. You don't take that for granted."
Despite making it to third-all time in assists, Paul recognizes that he is unlikely to end up on top of the leaderboard once his career is over.
"I looked at that list when I first came into the league and seeing that John Stockton and I was like, 'I'm going to get it.' But that ship sailed. That ship sailed. It sailed a while ago when I started missing all them games," Paul said with a laugh. "But to be third and still be playing, I'm grateful for it and I still got a ways to go."
Earlier in the season, Paul reached another achievement, becoming the first player in NBA history to record 20,000 career points and 10,000 career assists. Paul set this milestone along with his assists record all while competing against the team that drafted him-- although they were called the Hornets back when he was playing in New Orleans.
Paul’s teammate Devin Booker made sure to congratulate Paul on his accomplishment and noted that it’s an achievement that shouldn’t be taken lightly.
We keep acting like this is normal," Booker said. "When we go in the locker room afterward, 'Oh he passed Steve Nash, Mark Jackson. Game ball.' It's bigger than that, man. It really is. Obviously, I knew he was going to be close coming into today, but he passed it by a lot. I'm just happy to be a part of it. Just being a fan and just inspired by it, honestly. Been a fan for a really long time. It's really fun to see, fun to be a part of it and a long time from now, I'll be able to say I got to play with Chris Paul."
If Paul wants to reach Jason Kidd, he'd need more than 1,700-assist. As for Stockton--it will probably never happen because the former Utah Jazz guard has a 5,000-assist lead on Paul.
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