Lakers superstar LeBron James etched his name deeper into basketball history Friday evening, joining an exclusive group as only the fourth NBA player ever to accumulate 12,000 career assists during Los Angeles’ home matchup against Phoenix.
The historic milestone occurred early in the opening quarter when James secured a defensive rebound and fired a full-court chest pass downcourt. Deandre Ayton hauled in the pass over defender Collin Gillespie and converted the basket with 7:49 remaining in the first period, marking assist number 12,000 for the Lakers veteran.
James now trails three legends on the all-time assists leaderboard. Utah Jazz icon John Stockton holds the record with 15,806 career assists, while recently retired point guard Chris Paul sits in second place with 12,552. Hall of Famer Jason Kidd occupies third position with 12,091 assists.
Should the 41-year-old James return for another campaign, he would likely surpass Kidd’s total. Whether he can eventually catch Paul depends on his physical condition and how many games he appears in going forward.
Coming into Friday’s contest, James was posting 7.1 assists per game this season in his 59th appearance of the 2025-26 campaign.
Throughout his illustrious career, James maintains a 7.4 assists per game average.
