With the kind of names LeBron James has recently passed on the all-time scoring list, the four-time MVP’s ascent up the assists leaderboard has occurred mostly under the radar.
No more, not with James now moving up to 10th in all-time assists, becoming the only player in NBA history to rank in the top 10 in all-time scoring and assists. The Lakers superstar passed Andre Miller with his first assist of the night against Memphis on Monday, a pick-and-roll pocket pass for a Kyle Kuzma layup.
Overall, James finished with 11 assists in the Lakers’ 110-105 loss to the Grizzlies en route to a triple-double (24 points, 12 rebounds). James now has 8,535 assists in his career; Miller had 8,524.
The names ahead of James on that list are all Hall-of-Famers save for Chris Paul, who is likely to earn that honor with nine All-Star appearances and eight All-NBA honors.
James is the only non-point guard in the top 10 all-time assists list and the next-highest non-guard on the list, Scottie Pippen, ranks 33rd.
The Lakers forward needs more than 400 assists to pass Seattle SuperSonics legend Gary Payton for ninth. After Monday’s game, James now trails Michael Jordan by 131 points for the No. 4 all-time scoring spot.
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