James Harden is close to achieving a milestone that would only add to his legacy as one of the Houston Rockets’ all-time players.
According to Craig Ackerman, the Rockets’ TV and play-by-play broadcaster, Harden is eight assists away from being the Rockets’ all-time assists leader. Hall of Fame guard Calvin Murphy is the current leader with 4,402 assists. Harden currently has 4,395 assists as a Rockets player.
Harden has an opportunity to earn this achievement Monday night against the San Antonio Spurs. Tip off in Houston is set for 8 p.m. EST.
This season Harden is averaging a team-leading 7.5 assists. In each of the past five seasons, Harden has tallied at least 7.0 assists a game, with his career-high coming during the 2016-17 season. As one of the best playmakers in the league, Harden ranks eighth in assists per game this season.
James Harden needs just 8 assists to break Calvin Murphy's franchise record for assists.
— Craig Ackerman (@ca_rockets) December 16, 2019
From a scoring standpoint, what Harden does for the Rockets is extraordinary. The league’s leading scorer, he’s averaging a career-best 39.3 points per game. He is ranked third on the Rockets’ all-time leading scoring list behind Hakeem Olajuwon and Murphy, according to Basketball Reference.
But his ability to set up his teammates makes him even harder to contain. Harden has 4,937 career assists, ranking seventh among active players, per NBA.com.
With Harden close to accomplishing this milestone, it’ll help add to what’s been a Hall of Fame-caliber resume for the seven-time All-Star.