Chris Paul is considered by many as the best point guard of his generation. He recently passed Rod Strickland to break in the top 10 of all-time assists but can he break John Stockton's assist record? No chance.
Paul passed Strickland in the Los Angeles Clippers' 106-98 win over the Sacramento Kings last Friday. He put up 14 points, six rebounds, 12 assists and three steals. In their next game on Sunday, CP3 was even more impressive as he scored 19 points and notched 18 assists to help beat the Miami Heat.
If Paul can average 18 assists per game for the rest of his career, he certainly has a chance to pass Stockton on the all-time NBA assist list. However, that would be absurd since Paul has been prone to injury and it will only get difficult to stay healthy as he gets older.
Stockton played 19 seasons in the NBA but he only missed 54 games out of the possible 1,558. He has a total of 15,806 assists compared to Paul, who only has 8,012. The Utah Jazz legend is also the NBA all-time leader in steals with 3,265 while Paul is 15th with 1,862.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Paul revealed that his original goal when he entered the league in 2005 was to break Stockton's assists and steals record. However, he gave up in his second season since he missed a handful games that year.
"That's cool. It's an honor. It's a privilege. For me it's crazy. I'm so competitive, I think about all the games I done missed because of injuries. But that's an honor and a privilege," Paul said about being tenth all-time in assists.
"When I first came into the league, my goal was to pass John Stockton in steals and assists. No chance. I missed 18 games my second year in the league with an ankle injury. That went out the window then. He ain't never missed no games," he added.
According to USA Today, Paul passing Stockton on the all-time assist list is possible but it's not going to happen. The 31-year-old point guard has to play until he is 43 years old to break the record. However, if he keeps playing at a high level, he can reach Jason Kidd's record of 12,091 at the end of the 2022-2023 season.
Check out the video below to watch Paul's 18-assist game against the Heat on Sunday.