Phoenix Suns star point guard Chris Paul of Winston-Salem, North Carolina made NBA history on Sunday by becoming only the sixth player ever to record 10,000 assists in a career according to Jake Anderson of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. He accomplished the feat in a convincing 111-94 Suns win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Paul entered the game with 991 assists and made history at the 4:51 mark of the third quarter. He delivered a pass to Deandre Ayton of Nassau, Bahamas which made the score 72-57 for the Suns at the time.
Paul had four more assists in the game to end the contest with 13 helpers. He now has 10,004 career assists. The other five players in NBA history with 10,000 assists are John Stockton (15,806 assists), Jason Kidd (12,091 assists), Steve Nash (10,335 assists), Mark Jackson (10,334 assists), and Magic Johnson (10,141 assists). Like Paul, Nash and Kidd both played for the Phoenix Suns. Like Jackson, Paul has played for the Los Angeles Clippers and Houston Rockets.
Of Paul’s 10,004 assists, 4228 have come with the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets, 4023 came with the Los Angeles Clippers, 930 with the Houston Rockets, 472 with the Oklahoma City Thunder, and now 351 with the Suns. It has been an excellent first season for Paul in Phoenix, who was traded to the Suns from the Thunder on November 16. The all-star is averaging 15.9 points per game, 8.8 assists per game, and 4.8 rebounds per game.
Also in the Suns’ win over the Lakers, Los Angeles was without superstar LeBron James. In the Lakers game against the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday, James suffered a severe high ankle sprain and is expected to miss the next several weeks.
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