Spurs’ Chris Paul third NBA player to reach 12,000 assists

SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio Spurs guard Chris Paul became the third player in NBA history to reach 12,000 assists in his career.

With his third assist just 3:34 into San Antonio’s 120-115 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, Paul joined a list previously occupied by only John Stockton (15,806) and Jason Kidd (12,091).

“I remember the first time I played in Utah, and I looked up and saw John Stockton was the all-time assists and steals leader, and I was like, ‘I’m gonna catch that,'” Paul said. “That was a lie. But to be second behind John Stockton is really cool.”

Paul dished his first two assists within the first 2:14 of Friday’s game, finding Julian Champagnie for a driving layup and Victor Wembanyama for a 29-footer from the wing as San Antonio built an 11-0 advantage.

Paul stepped into the NBA record book in emphatic fashion with 8:26 left in the opening quarter by tossing a lob to a cutting Wembanyama for a two-handed jam on an alley-oop, as the Spurs surged ahead 13-4 in their NBA Cup opener.

Paul finished with 11 points, 11 assists and 2 steals, but San Antonio remained winless (0-5) since last season in NBA Cup games.

“Wow, that’s such a big number,” Wembanyama said of Paul’s 12,000-assists milestone. “It’s hard to imagine how much you need to average for how many years [to get there]. Eventually, every player, we want to see our names up there one day. It’s just incredible.”

The Spurs expected Paul to have an immediate impact on a young, inexperienced after signing him in July to play alongside 20-year-old phenom Wembanyama. Paul hasn’t disappointed on that front, having pieced together six 10-assist games this season.

“The first thing I say in any of these situations you go into, you’ve got to show guys that you can hoop,” Paul said of joining a young team. “I don’t go in there trying to be anybody’s coach. They want to see what you do now, right? That’s why I’ve trained and worked the way I work because you can tell them all you want to tell them. But they want to see it.”

“I remember the first time I played in Utah, and I looked up and saw John Stockton was the all-time assists and steals leader, and I was like, ‘I’m gonna catch that.’ That was a lie. But to be second behind John Stockton is really cool.”

Chris Paul