DALLAS — Chris Paul passed Jason Kidd for second all-time in career assists on Sunday. It was certainly an impressive accomplishment by Paul, who is currently in his first season with the San Antonio Spurs. Kidd, who is currently the head coach for the Dallas Mavericks, addressed Paul passing him on the all-time list after practice on Monday.
Jason Kidd on Chris Paul: “Future Hall of Famer”
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“Chris, well-deserved,” Kidd said. “Incredible, future Hall of Famer. Had a lot of games where he set the table for teammates, had a lot of great teammates. As we know, assists, you need a partner. Again, congratulations to him and what he's accomplished, and he's not done. I don't know if he can catch (John) Stockton, I don't think anyone can catch Stockton. Stockton's number is pretty impressive, but for Chris to be second, that's big time.”
Paul has enjoyed a Hall of Fame career. Kidd, of course, is a Hall of Famer as well. And John Stockton, who leads the NBA all-time lists in both assists and steals, was also selected to the Hall of Fame.
Paul recorded assist number 12,092 for his career during the Spurs' 121-116 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday night. Stock, however, had 15,806 assists during his career. The chances of anyone catching up to Stockton's mark are slim, but anything is possible.
With all of that being said, passing a legend like Jason Kidd is an incredible accomplishment.
Kidd makes bold John Stockton claim
Kidd primarily focused on talking about Paul's accomplishment on Monday, but he also gave Stockton his flowers.
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“When you talk about Chris Paul and a lot of the great point guards in this league, to be able to stay up there… (I) didn't play long enough to catch Stockton,” Kidd said. “But again like I said, that number is very impressive when you look at not just the assists but the steals. Stockton is really never mentioned in the top five of point guards, which he should always be in the top two with the things that he’s accomplished.
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“It's really cool, 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. I just don't know if anybody can catch Stockton.”
There have been many tremendous point guards over the years. Kidd, Paul and Stockton are unquestionably among the best of all-time. Being able to find the open teammate is something that Jason Kidd took pride in during his career.
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“As a point guard, that's one of the responsibilities, setting the table, getting guys involved,” Kidd said. “To be apart of the play is something that you looked at… To be lucky enough to do that a couple of times was a lot of fun.”