Former NBA player and now Dallas Maverick head coach Jason Kidd gave his honest insight on the historic milestone that San Antonio Spurs point guard Chris Paul achieved, surpassing his previous second-best position.
Chris Paul achieved a new milestone in his playing career as he logged enough assists to get second place for the most number of assists for an NBA player. Paul logged his 12,099th assist in the Spurs’ game against the New Orleans Pelicans.
The second place was previously held by Jason Kidd, who logged 12.091 in his entire career. The first place is a long way to go, as John Stockton still holds the top spot with 15,806 assists.
!["I Don't Know If He Can Catch Stockton": Jason Kidd Doubts Chris Paul Can Overtake John Stockton In NBA All-Time Assists List 1 Jason Kidd, Chris Paul](https://www.hardwoodheroics.com/wp-content/smush-webp/2024/12/USATSI_7165750_168400517_lowres.jpg.webp)
While Kidd was impressed with Paul reaching the milestone, he still believes beating Stockton is a long way to go.
“Chris—well deserved, incredible, future Hall of Famer,” Kidd said in an interview. “(He) had a lot of games where he set the table for teammates. (He) had a lot of great teammates. As we know, (for) assists, you need a great partner. So, again congratulations to him and what he has accomplished.”
“I don’t know if he can catch Stockton, I don’t think anyone can catch Stockton,” Kidd added. “Stockton’s numbers are pretty impressive but for Chris to be second, that’s big-time.”
Jason Kidd Praises Stockton’s Defense
While Jason Kidd had praises for Chris Paul, he still holds John Stockton on a higher pedestal, as he believes in the former Utah Jazz legend as one of the best defensive players to set foot in the NBA.
“That number (15,806) is very impressive, when you look at it,” Jason said, in the same interview. “Not just the assists, but the steals. Stockton is never really mentioned in the top five of point guards, which, he should always be in the top two with the things that he’s accomplished.”
!["I Don't Know If He Can Catch Stockton": Jason Kidd Doubts Chris Paul Can Overtake John Stockton In NBA All-Time Assists List 2 Jason Kidd](https://www.hardwoodheroics.com/wp-content/smush-webp/2024/12/USATSI_24920357_168400517_lowres.jpg.webp)
He even highlighted how someone would be able to catch up and surpass Chris the same way Chris surpassed him, but he doubts someone can surpass Stockton in this regard.
!["I Don't Know If He Can Catch Stockton": Jason Kidd Doubts Chris Paul Can Overtake John Stockton In NBA All-Time Assists List 3 Jason Kidd](https://www.hardwoodheroics.com/wp-content/smush-webp/2024/12/USATSI_24829460_168400517_lowres.jpg.webp)
“Someone will catch Chris at some point, I just don’t know if anybody could catch Stockton.”
Jason Kid spent his final season with the Dallas Mavericks, where he averaged 11.7 points per game, 5.4 rebounds, and 7.7 assists. For his entire career, Kidd averaged 12.6 points per game, 6.3 rebounds, and 8.7 assists. He made 40% of his field goal shots, and 34.9% from beyond the arc.
For more sports content:
Follow us @HardwoodHeroics for your NBA and college basketball reading fix. You can reach out to Dan Agulto through email at [email protected]. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest sports news, click here!
Dan has been active in sports since 2016 and has worked behind the scenes as a scriptwriter for basketball, volleyball, and other sports. At a time, Dan has also been working as a sports commentator for CBA Pilipinas. During the pandemic, he has also been actively writing betting articles for CashBet and BetNow.