Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd was one of the greatest point guards in NBA history and arguably the best in the NBA from the early 2000s. Over a 19-year career, Kidd dished out 12,091 assists to occupy the No. 2 spot on the all-time assists list behind John Stockton. Chris Paul overtook him last night in a 10-assist performance for the San Antonio Spurs against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Kidd was asked by Mavericks’ media members to react to Paul’s accomplishment, with Kidd giving the point guard his flowers.
“Talk about Chris Paul and all the great point guards in this league. To be able to stay up there. Unfortunately, I didn’t play long enough to catch John Stockton. But I feel like that number is really impressive if you look at not just the assists but the steals as well. He’s never been mentioned in the top five point guards ever. He should always be top two with the things that he’s accomplished.”
Kidd made it clear he thinks more players will pass him and Paul on the assists list but wondered if anybody could ever catch Stockton.
“I don’t know who is next in line to pass me, but records are meant to be broken. Someone will catch Chris at some point, but I don’t know if anyone can catch Stockton.”
“Talk about Chris Paul and all the great point guards in this league… I didn't play long enough to catch John Stockton… He's never mentioned in the top 5 point guards ever. He should always be top 2."
Jason Kidd on CP3 passing him in assists all-time🗣️
(via @JoeyMistretta_) pic.twitter.com/EE05j0i68m
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) December 9, 2024
Paul was emotional and grateful after achieving the feat last night, speaking to his teammates after the Spurs sealed the 121-116 win over the Pelicans.
“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.”
Paul is averaging 10.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 8.5 assists in his 20th season in the NBA. While he needed two months of a new season to surpass Kidd, who retired after 19 seasons, Paul’s accomplishment is incredible given the incredible names on the all-time assists list.
Not many modern players are on pace to match Paul and Kidd at the moment, with the best current-generation passers also carrying a much larger scoring load than Paul or Kidd ever did. This includes the likes of Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, and Trae Young primarily.
Tyrese Haliburton might be able to challenge this record if he maintains his assists pace from last season (10.9 APG). However, he’s missed time due to injuries and is having a bad 2024-25 season (8.4 APG), so it’s unclear if there’s any player in the NBA right now who can challenge the heights Kidd and Paul reached.
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