Does Chris Paul Actually Have A Chance To Break This NBA Record?
San Antonio’s newest addition may not have put himself in the best position to win a championship in year 19, but he could move closer to breaking this NBA record. It’s been said for years that NBA Hall-of-Famer John Stockton’s all-time assists record is "untouchable," given that he totaled 15,806 assists throughout his 19-year career, it makes sense.
The only other person who has come close to Stockton’s record – and by close, this player still came up over 3,700 assists short – was Jason Kidd, who finished his career with 12,091 assists.
Then there’s Chris Paul, who enters year 19 with 11,894 assists. He just signed a one-year deal with the San Antonio Spurs after a season stint with the Golden State Warriors, which ultimately fell short in the play-in tournament back in April.
This begs the question: Could Chris Paul break John Stockton’s all-time assists record?
How Does Paul Fit With The Spurs?
By joining the Spurs, Paul’s chances of winning that ever-so-sought-after first NBA Championship essentially go by the wayside, as San Antonio is in the early stages of a rebuild led by rising star Victor Wembanyama.
However, with potential generational talent in Wembanyama as a teammate, Paul will have many chances to facilitate and rack up his assist totals, thus making the race to dethrone Stockton all the more intriguing.
Wembanyama is more of a stretch-the-floor-type player than Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan ever were when Paul was teammates with them on the Los Angeles Clippers, but a Paul-to-Wembanyama lob could take the league by storm.
If anything, Paul is in San Antonio to finish his career in a mentor role and in a system where he can still start and contribute. Given the type of player he is, Paul can potentially speed up the Spurs' rebuild.
No, CP3 is not where he used to be as a player, and the number of seasons he has left in the league are numbered, but he will provide a needed foundation for the Spurs that will hopefully reverberate through their franchise for years to come.
"The opportunity to play, to hoop, to compete," Paul said in his introductory press conference on July 9. "This is a first-class organization and for me, I love nothing more than the opportunity to play, and contribute and hoop."
Paul going to San Antonio is like Shaquille O’Neal when he ended up on the Cleveland Cavaliers with a young LeBron James. Granted, the Cavs were in a much better position to compete for a title, and Shaq was a four-time champion. Still, it’s a similar experiment with a young player and a veteran ending up in the same organization.
What Would It Take To Break The Record?
Paul would need 3,912 assists to break Stockton’s all-time total. Given that Paul just finished his 18th season, that alone does not make this chase very plausible. Numbers-wise, it doesn’t seem doable either.
The most assists Paul has ever recorded in a single season is 925, and that was during the early years of his career with New Orleans. Last year with the Warriors, he only tallied 393 for the season.
Granted, with the Warriors, he did come off the bench and missed significant time with an injury during the season, but Stockton was out in Utah, picking up over 1,000 assists in seven of his 19 seasons in the NBA. Paul has never racked up assists of that nature.
Most of it comes down to scoring, which Paul has done much more than Stockton. The most points per season Stockton ever averaged in his career was 17.2, while Paul averaged over 20 points per game in two seasons and over 19 points per game in four seasons of his career. Stockton scored 19,711 points all time, while Paul scored 22,288 points. So, it appears the record will remain untouchable for the time being.
With young talents like Wembanyama, Devin Vassell, and now new Spurs draftee Stephon Castle, Paul will have plenty of chances to dish the rock. Depending on if he can stay healthy, there’s a strong chance he will at least pass Jason Kidd for second all-time on the assists list, which he only needs 197 to do.
But, even if he plays another four years, Paul would have a hard time knocking off the greatest facilitator the league has ever seen. Regardless of where he ultimately ranks all time, Paul will still be a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer once he retires.
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