CP3 got his 11,000th assist by lobbing an oop against the Clippers.
Chris Paul is a pretty good passer.
The guy recently reached 11,000 assists on Sunday, Oct. 23 in a game against his former team, the Los Angeles Clippers.
He only needed two more dimes at the start of the game.
His 10,999th assist came via a pass to Devin Booker, who shot and recorded the first three points of the game.
And for his next assist -and I’m not sure if he did this consciously or subconsciously, but- he took it back to the days of Lob City in the former city of lobs.
Paul was attacking the basket but was cut off by the Clippers’ center, Ivica Zubac.
But that was no issue for Paul -he is the Point God, after all.
Using his special senses, he felt the vibrations of his teammate, DeAndre Ayton, rim running.
Paul does a quick little spin, sees Ayton open near the rim, signalling for the lob, and tosses the basketball up to him for a powerful alley-oop.
I’m sure that play brought back some nice memories of when he ran Lob plays with Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan.
In addition to joining the 11,000 Assists Club with John Stockton (15,806 assists) and Jason Kidd (12,091 assists), Paul also became the first NBA player to ever amass 20,000 points and 11,000 assists.
Random Thought: isn’t it wild how LeBron James hasn’t gotten this accolade yet? I thought he would have already since he scores and assists so much and has played more games than CP3. Anywhoo…
Pure greatness.
Via ESPN:
“There’s been a lot of firsts here at the Staples Center,” Paul said before correcting himself. “Well, Crypto arena.”
He also added that he wouldn’t have been able to get all of those assists had he not had great teammates throughout his career.
Via NBC Sports:
“By just studying the game,” Paul said of how he got to 11,000. “And my teammates, man I’ve been fortunate to play for a while now with a lot of great shooters. They are great players and gentlemen. Started off with David West got a chance to play with Tyson Chandler, Peja Stojaković, came [to Los Angeles] to play with Blake Griffin, DJ [DeAndre Jordan], J.J. Redick and I could keep going. And now playing with [Devin Booker] and these guys. I’m privileged.”
In 1158 games, Paul is averaging 9.5 assists and 18.1 points per game.
Final Thoughts
Paul is fantastic.
He is such a smart and talented basketball player and I’m glad he achieved this accolade, which cements him as one of the best point guards to ever play the game.
Who do you think will be the next player -that’s not LeBron James- to join the 20,000 points and 11,000 assists club?
