Phoenix Suns veteran guard Chris Paul added another major achievement to his storied career during a 112-110 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. Paul ended the game with 18 assists, which brought his career total to 10,346 and allowed him to sit at the number three spot on the NBA all-time career assists list.
Paul entered the contest needing eight assists to overtake the Suns’ legend Steve Nash and enter the top three. The 36-year-old got to work early on and was already tied with Nash in the first eight minutes of the opening period. However, it wasn’t until 1:34 left in the second quarter that he managed to break the tie by setting up a three-pointer for Jae Crowder.
“I’m grateful, and I thank God for this opportunity,” Paul said of the achievement. “I say it all the time, not only to be on a team and still be in the league but to still be playing. You don’t take that for granted.”
Paul, who inked a four-year, $120 million extension with the Suns in the offseason, started the 2021-22 NBA campaign slower than usual in terms of scoring and is currently averaging career-low 13.0 points per game. But other parts of his game haven’t skipped a beat. He is currently dishing 11.8 assists per game and making a career-best 41.7 percent of his three-point attempts while also adding 2.0 steals and 4.3 boards per game.
