Chris Paul has made NBA history as the player with the second-most assists in the history of the league, passing Jason Kidd’s total of 12,091 tonight during the San Antonio Spurs‘ 121-116 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. Paul crossed Kidd with his third assist in the game, coming with eight minutes left in the second quarter on a corner dish to Harrison Barnes for three.
Chris Paul ties Jason Kidd for 2ND ALL-TIME in assists!
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📲 https://t.co/kIHzNmS7vO pic.twitter.com/QW33yRA2O1
— NBA (@NBA) December 9, 2024
Paul was visibly emotional while speaking to teammates in the locker room after the game.
“I can’t say nothing but thank you. I know I’m hard to deal with a lot of times. I swear man, I’m so grateful. To be away from my family — y’all became my family. I know I’m a lot to deal with on the court, but I just love to hoop. I hope y’all get this opportunity to play as long as I have. Thank y’all so much.”
Chris Paul gave an emotional speech after his historic game. (via @spurs)
"I'm so grateful. To be away from my family — y'all became my family. I know I'm a lot to deal with on the court. But I just love to hoop. I hope y'all get this opportunity to play as long as I have." pic.twitter.com/oqzNnUpkvU
— Josh Paredes (@Josh810) December 9, 2024
Paul spoke at length about the support he’s received from the Spurs organization since joining them this summer before achieving this feat with the franchise this season.
“Grateful. I’ve been in a few Playoff series here against the Spurs. When we play on the road, a lot of boos come my way for changing teams and playing in the Playoffs. San Antonio has been nothing short of amazing. The fans, the staff, the team, you hear all these stories about the Spurs being a first-class organization, so to get an opportunity to experience and witness it, just gratitude.”
““Grateful… San Antonio has been nothing short of amazing. The fans… The staff, the team… A first-class organization."
Chris Paul on passing Jason Kidd for the 2nd most assists on the NBA all-time list as a Spur 🙌
(via @HectorLedesmaTV)pic.twitter.com/j5Trj65izA
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) December 9, 2024
Many predicted Paul to take the No. 2 spot in the list before tonight’s game, as Paul was interviewed about his love for assisting and why he chose to make it his signature skill over scoring the ball.
“I sort of look at it as chess, with all the moving parts, I always say my job is the easy part to find guys but they’ve got to make the shots. It’s fun. Some people love to score, which is cool, but I’ve always, ever since I was a kid, loved sharing the ball and loved assisting, and know I have the capabilities for it and love to see other guys score.”
"I sort of look at it as chess, with all the moving parts."@CP3 is a passing savant.
He's now 2nd all-time in assists! pic.twitter.com/OXErO8Fkx7
— NBA (@NBA) December 9, 2024
Chris Paul ended the game with six points (2-7 FG), seven rebounds, and 10 assists, with his total assists sitting at 12,099 after tonight’s game. This might be the highest we see Paul on the list, as he still trails John Stockton (15,806) by 3,707 assists.
Even if he notches 820 assists per season (10 per game for 82 games), it would take Paul nearly five more seasons to equal Stockton’s tally. With Paul being a 40-year-old guard in Year 20, the odds of him producing at that rate and playing for five more seasons are nearly impossible.
It was poetic for Paul to surpass Kidd tonight in the Spurs win over the Pelicans, as Paul was drafted to the NBA by the New Orleans franchise, then known as the Hornets. Paul is the all-time assists leader for the Pelicans still, dishing out 4,288 assists over his six-year stint with the franchise. He’s 1,455 assists ahead of No. 2 Jrue Holiday, who dished out 2,833 dimes in his Pelicans career.
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