Lakers star LeBron James’ inexorable climb up the NBA’s statistical lists continued Monday against Cleveland with his third-quarter dime to Danny Green, pushing him past Pistons legend Isiah Thomas for eighth in career assists.
James, who currently leads the NBA in assists with a career-high 10.7 per game, finished with a total of eight in the 128-99 rout, giving him 9,067 in 17 seasons.
Congrats to @KingJames of the @Lakers for moving up to 8th on the all-time ASSISTS list! #LakeShow pic.twitter.com/sK0YRLC8pv
— NBA (@NBA) January 14, 2020
“One of the best point guards this game has ever seen, and one of the toughest as well,” James said. “Any time I’m linked with the greats, it’s just an honor. I just hope I make them proud.”
| Rank | Player | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | John Stockton | 15,806 |
| 2. | Jason Kidd | 12,091 |
| 3. | Steve Nash | 10,335 |
| 4. | Mark Jackson | 10,334 |
| 5. | Magic Johnson | 10,141 |
| 6. | Oscar Robertson | 9,887 |
| 7. | Chris Paul | 9,436 * |
| 8. | LeBron James | 9,067 * |
| 9. | Isiah Thomas | 9,061 |
| * = as of Jan. 14, 2020 | ||
Indeed he did, as Thomas congratulated James via Twitter.
Congratulations to @kingjames for passing my @NBA assist record. What an amazing accomplishment! Celebrate this milestone with your player owned @TheNBPA @cheurlin1788 champagne! #youearnedit #champion @NBATV pic.twitter.com/4vH8OxhWqX
— Isiah Thomas (@IsiahThomas) January 14, 2020
James’ latest milestone came only three days after he surpassed Michael Jordan for fourth in career field goals.
James also scored 31 points against his former team, pushing his career total 33,513.
Based on his current scoring average of 25.4 points per game, James will surpass Lakers great Kobe Bryant for third in career scoring as early as Jan. 23 at Brooklyn.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
