Passing master: Chris Paul moves into No. 2 spot on NBA’s assist list

An assist is a unique basketball statistic.

Unlike scoring or rebounding, the player making a pass is dependent on another player to get credit. The pass can be perfect – even spectacular – but if the recipient of the pass doesn’t put the basketball through the hoop, there is no assist. Just a missed shot.

It requires skill and good fortune to amass all-time assist numbers.

Chris Paul has both. The San Antonio Spurs guard on Sunday passed Jason Kidd (12,091 career assists) for No. 2 on the NBA’s all-time assist list and now has 12,099 assists.

Plenty goes into that. Longevity. This Paul’s 20th season. Talent. Paul is smart, focused, gifted, has amazing court vision and command of an offense. Quality teammates. He has assisted on baskets to 173 players, from the obscure (Arvydas Macijauskas) to the bucket-getters (David West, Blake Griffin, Devin Booker, James Harden, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry).

Paul’s first assist went to P.J. Brown in Paul’s first NBA game in 2005. The assist that moved him into second place behind John Stockton (15,806 assists) came on a pass to Victor Wembanyama who was two months from turning 2 years old in Paul’s NBA debut.

“It was cool – it’s a lot better since we won, given the fashion that we won,” Paul said Sunday after the Spurs defeated the New Orleans Pelicans, coached by Willie Green, who was on the receiving end of 143 Paul assists during his NBA career.

“I have had the opportunity to be part of a lot of great players’ journeys in my career, and to be here with Vic, to be connected with him in that way has been pretty cool,” Paul continued.

Paul will keep adding to his assist total but remains 3,707 assists behind Stockton’s record, which, like LeBron James’ all-time scoring record, will not be broken for a long time. Paul, 39, had 3,813 assists from 2016-17 through 2022-23 – a span of seven seasons. It’s difficult to envision seven more seasons of eight-plus assists per game from Paul to reach Stockton.

“I just love hooping, but I love my family, too,” Paul said of retirement consideration. “I know I’ve missed a lot (of family events). Right now, I’m just going to keep hooping and figure it out as a I go.”

Paul was reminded that Stockton missed 22 games in his 19-year career. Despite multiple hand injuries that required surgery, Paul has been reliable, playing in fewer than 58 games in a season just once. Even if Paul had played in more games, he’d still remain a considerable distance behind Stockton.

It doesn’t make Paul’s accomplishment any less remarkable. He is one of two players with 20,000 points and 10,000 assists and has 600 games with at least 10 assists (second to Stockton’s 863).

Paul is a future Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer and is one of the game’s all-time great point guards. He’s an 11-time All-NBA and nine-time All-Defense selection and has led the league in steals six time and assists five times. He was a member of the NBA’s greatest 75 players and has two Olympics gold medals. An NBA title has eluded him.

In explaining his success, Paul said, “Just being willing to learn and adjust and adapt to the way the league’s going.”

Playing for his seventh franchise, Paul is helping a young Spurs team figure out how to win and helping Wembanyama maximize his unlimited potential.

“San Antonio has been nothing short of amazing,” Paul said. “The fans have been amazing, the staff, the team. You hear all these stories about the San Antonio Spurs (being) a first-class organization. To get an opportunity to experience it and witness it, just gratitude.”

He is averaging 10.2 points and 8.5 assists in 28.9 minutes per game this season.

“He’s just incredible how he doesn’t just do things halfway,” Wembanyama said. “He’s never just on the court just to be on the court. He’s trying to win, trying to find solutions. It’s a really unique thing, and it’s a trait you find in all these players, those greats that stick around for years and years.”

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