Chris Paul came into Wednesday’s game against the Raptors seventh on the all-time assists list, sitting at 9,436.
But close behind (as close as 369 assists can be) is friend and Western Conference foe, LeBron James.
James is eighth on the all-time list, coming into Wednesday with 9,067 and leading the league with 10.7 assists per game.
But LeBron told Melissa Rohlin of Sports Illustrated that the two aren’t trading (friendly) barbs as he continues to gain on Paul.
“No, not really. We talk a lot, myself, Melo [Carmelo Anthony], D-Wade [Dwyane Wade]. We talk a lot about things that’s going on in our lives or our careers. If we’re able to hit a milestone throughout the course of this marathon, we acknowledge one another. We congratulate one another. But it never goes to the trash talking side.
“It’s never been in our DNA. It’s never been who we’ve been about throughout our career since our brotherhood started. It’s pretty damn cool to see CP right there, I’m right there in assists. Guys coming from small cities, Winston-Salem and Akron, Ohio. And that would be Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for some of you guys that [don’t know]. To do what we’re doing today, that’s pretty cool.”
Paul is 19th in the NBA this season, averaging 6.7 assists per game. He dished out 11 as part of a double-double in the Thunder’s loss to Toronto on Wednesday night.