The Phoenix Suns secured a big win on Sunday night, and Chris Paul made history in the process. Finishing with 13 assists in the Suns’ 111-94 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, Paul became just the sixth player in NBA history to record 10,000 career assists.
In the middle of the third quarter, Paul brought the ball down the left side of the floor and sprinted off a double screen at the top of the key. The Lakers were not prepared, and Paul easily made his way into the lane, where he was able to play two-on-one with Deandre Ayton. As he’s done so many times in his career, he lofted a perfect lob up to the big man, who slammed it home.
Including his 13 assists on Sunday, Paul now has 10,004 for his career, which is sixth on the all-time list. Along with LeBron James — No. 8 all time — Paul is one of just two active players in the top 10 for assists. Up next is Magic Johnson, who sits in fifth with 10,141 assists. Assuming Paul continues at his season average, it would take him just under 16 games to pass Johnson and move into the top five. With 31 games left on the Suns’ regular-season schedule, Paul can easily accomplish that this season.
Paul’s 8.7 assists per game this season are his most since 2017, when he was still playing on the Los Angeles Clippers. After a bit of a slow start, Paul has been his usual brilliant self for the Suns in his first season with the team, and has them playing great basketball.
After the win over the Lakers, they’re now 28-13, and all alone in second place in the Western Conference. In the last five seasons, they won more than 28 games just once, which is really all you need to know to understand just how big their improvement has been. At this point they’re basically a lock to make the playoffs for the first time since 2010, and with Paul leading the way they have a real chance to make some noise when they get there.