LeBron James becomes first player in NBA history to notch 10,000 career points, rebounds and assists

John Stockton. Jason Kidd. Chris Paul. Steve Nash. Mark Jackson. Magic Johnson. They are six of the greatest passers in the history of basketball, and on Sunday, they were joined in the record books by LeBron James. The 19-year veteran has been among the best playmakers in the NBA for almost two decades, and now he has the numbers to prove it.

James entered Sunday's tilt with the Phoenix Suns having assisted on 9,998 of his teammates' baskets. He needed only two more to reach the ultra-exclusive 10,000 assists club, and sure enough, he got there early in the game with this dime.

James' combination of scoring and passing has been unique in NBA history since the moment he arrived in the NBA. He is the only player in the top 10 in NBA history in both points and assists, and with 10,000 assists now in the books, he is the only player with at least 25,000 points and 10,000 assists. Having notched his 10,000th rebound earlier this season, he is also the first player in NBA history to earn a career triple-quintuple: 10,000 points, rebounds and assists.

James has remained one of the NBA's dominant offensive threats well into his 30s. He led the NBA in assists during his age-35 season, and now, two years later, he is making a real run at the scoring title. Should he win it at 37, he would become the oldest player in league history to do so, replacing Michael Jordan, who did so at 35.

James reached the 10,000 assist mark against the team that employs another member of that club: Chris Paul's Suns. Sadly, Paul, James' close friend, was unable to play in Sunday's matchup due to injury. They are the only two active players with 10,000 assists, though current James teammate Russell Westbrook, who entered Sunday's game with 8,529 has a chance to get there some day.

With 10,000 assists now in the bank, James should be able to climb the all-time leaderboard relatively quickly. Johnson, Jackson and Nash all have below 10,400 assists to their names, so James should able to reach the top-four at some point next season. From there, it will be a matter of how long he and Paul hang on. Kidd's 12,091 career assists are attainable for both of them should they play long enough. Kidd is currently in second place. Stockton, with 15,806 assists, is the all-time leader, and James has almost no chance of catching him. He'll have to settle for becoming the NBA's all-time leading scorer, which he can do next season by passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Abdul-Jabbar is nowhere near the top of the assists leaderboard. Stockton couldn't score at anywhere near the clip LeBron has. What makes James so special is that he does virtually everything at an elite level. While chasing an absurd age-37 scoring title on Sunday, he just casually managed to rack up his 10,000th assist in the process.

Comments

Dennis Rodman Once Said He, Michael Jordan, And Scottie Pippen Could Lock Up LeBron James: "LeBron Is So Easy To Play. He’s So F**king Easy To Play. He Doesn’t Have Any Moves."

If there is something that will never end it is the comparison between players from different eras. Even in that niche, most comparisons revolve around the legendary players from the Chicago Bulls. Yes, we are talking about the likes of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman. A perfect example of that was seen by fans back in a 2019 interview featuring Dennis Rodman. The Worm was asked about his thoughts on guarding none other than LeBron James. Rodman replied: (starts at 6:06) "You know who could lock up LeBron? Me, Mike, and Scottie could. F*ck yeah. I would have locked his a** up. LeBron is so easy to play. He’s so f*cking easy to play, he don’t have any moves. Only move he has is streak down the line. He ain’t got no moves. Where he going?? Where is he going that’s quick? That’ll be sh*t, you can stop that. Scottie Pippen would have shut his f*cking a** down quick before I get to him. His game is too simple, he’s just big. I’m 260 and 6’8” and 6’9”, that’s the onl...

From Deep: At long last, Nikola Jokic's Nuggets can envision getting to the top of the mountain

Jamal Murray tore his ACL on April 12, 2021. Leading up to that night, he'd been playing at an All-NBA level for two months: In a 25-game stretch, Murray averaged 24.1 points on .509/.459/.935 shooting splits, 4.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists. He was even more efficient than he was in the bubble playoffs, and his defense had improved, too. Murray only got to play with Aaron Gordon, the Denver Nuggets' big trade-deadline addition, for five games. They won them all except the one in which Murray got injured. In 110 minutes, their new starting five scored slightly more efficiently than any iteration of the Kevin Durant-era death lineup in Golden State and defended like a top-five team. Two Nikola Jokic MVP awards later, Murray is back. So is Michael Porter Jr., who signed a five-year extension about a year ago and needed back surgery nine games into the 2020-21 season. The Nuggets remember how easily everything slid into place with Gordon in the mix. Newcomer Kentavious Caldwell-Pop...

Michael Jordan On LeBron James: "He's An Unbelievable Player, He's One Of The Best Players In The World... I'm A Fan Of His, I Love Watching Him Play..."

Even before he made it to the NBA, LeBron James was already compared to the greatest player of all time, Michael Jordan. His Airness made a huge impact on the league, winning six championships in eight years, dominating rivals every night, and becoming one of the best two-way players in NBA history. During his career, and even during his retirement, many players were compared to Jordan, but nobody could live up to the expectations. LeBron James was deemed 'The Chosen One' when he was a teenager, and comparisons between him and MJ never stopped coming. They have mutual respect, and the biggest proof of that came during the 2022 All-Star Game, where MJ and Bron embraced each other in Cleveland. James would post a big pic of his first and most recent encounter with Jordan, paying respect to the man that inspired him. Just like the Los Angeles Lakers superstar has always shown his admiration for James, Jordan has done the same before. Back in 2020, during a press co...

Crossover World

Search This Blog