The Los Angeles Lakers guard Russell Westbrook got the 8,972nd assist of his career during his team’s 121-104 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night. As a result, he passed Gary Payton to go 10th on the NBA’s all-time assists chart.
“If somebody had told me 15 years ago, 20 years ago that you’d be top 10 in assists, I’d look at them like they was crazy,” Westbrook exclaimed after the game. “In the NBA, never dreamt of being in this position, nor getting to the point to where I’m next to some of the greats. I’m just truly grateful and thankful for an opportunity to keep playing at the highest level and I don’t take any of that for granted.”
Finishing the evening with 17 points, 10 assists, and 8 rebounds, Westbrook will be disappointed, however, that the Lakers slumped to a second straight loss. The Lakers went 24-27 after the defeat, putting them in 13th place on the Western Conference standings.
Coach Darvin Ham revealed that despite the loss, the team still made time to give Westbrook a round of applause after the game in recognition of his achievement.
