With his third assist on Sunday evening, Chris Paul passed Jason Kidd for second in NBA career assists. It came on a pass to Victor Wembanyama for a three-pointer in the second quarter of a 121-116 San Antonio Spurs victory vs. the New Orleans Pelicans.
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Following the game, Paul reflected on a milestone that, though looming for the last several games, didn't seem at all inevitable when he started to take the game seriously.
“I played JV basketball two years of high school. I was on varsity football, JV basketball,” Paul, who started his pro career in 2005 with New Orleans, said.
Spurs honor Chris Paul before and after the game
San Antonio Spurs guard Chris Paul (3) is recognized after moving into second place on the all-time assist leaders list in the first half against the New Orleans Pelicans at Frost Bank Center.
Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images
Shortly after Paul registered his third assist of the game to pass Kidd's total of 12,091, the Spurs honored the future Hall-of-Famer for passing his fellow great and current Dallas Mavericks coach. During a time-out, the arena's public address announcer and video board recognized the feat with an announcement and a corresponding highlight and graphics. On the bench, Wemby stood up to congratulate Paul, who acknowledged a building full of fans giving the first-year Spur a standing ovation.
“It was the best. I didn't realize it in the moment but coming into the game I was thinking, OK, I've got to get that. I've got to be in on this one,” Wembanyama said of hitting the trey that put Paul over.
“It was great. Very proud of him.”
After the game in the locker room, the Spurs gave Paul a commemorative basketball and framed picture that featured the six other NBA teams for which he's played and all the players through his 20 seasons to whom he's delivered an assist.
“Grateful,” Paul expressed about reaching the mark with yet another fan base. “I've been in a few playoff series here against the Spurs. When we go play on the road, there's a lot of boo's that come my way for changing teams and playing in the playoffs.”
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Twenty-three games into his Spurs career, Paul, who says he has no timeline as to how much longer he'll play, has helped the 12-12 Spurs to the same number of wins it took them 60 to get last season.
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“San Antonio has been nothing short of amazing. The fans have been amazing, the staff, the team. You hear all these stories about how the San Antonio Spurs are a first-class organization. So, to get an opportunity to experience and witness it – just gratitude.”
With 10 assists in a win that broke a three-game Spurs losing streak, Paul has 12,099 for his career. He trails only John Stockton's 15,806 in the annals of NBA history.