LeBron James gives Russell Westbrook flowers with 2 emojis after climbing assists list

Sacramento Kings point guard Russell Westbrook reached a major milestone Saturday night in his 18th NBA season, surpassing Magic Johnson on the league’s all-time assists list.

The milestone came during Sacramento’s 113–107 home win over the Dallas Mavericks at Golden 1 Center, a game in which Westbrook recorded 21 points, nine assists, and five rebounds on 8-of-16 shooting. His second assist of the first quarter was the 10,142nd of his career, allowing him to pass Johnson (10,141) for seventh place on the league all-time assists list. By the end of the game, his total had risen to 10,149 assists.

With that achievement, the 37-year-old became one of only eight players in league history to surpass 10,000 career assists. The only players now ahead of him are John Stockton (15,806), Chris Paul (12,552), Jason Kidd (12,091), LeBron James (11,673), Steve Nash (10,335), and Mark Jackson (10,334). Both Nash and Jackson are fewer than 200 assists ahead, putting a top-five ranking within reach if Westbrook maintains his current pace.

The milestone didn’t go unnoticed across the league, with a former teammate among those taking notice. Ahead of Sunday’s matchup between the Kings and Los Angeles Lakers, James, with whom Westbrook shared court during the 2021-22 season, reacted to a fan post labeling Westbrook an all-time great on X (formerly Twitter) by responding with a fax and a flower emoji, celebrating Westbrook as one of the premier playmakers in the NBA. The gesture resonated even more in light of their difficult run together, during which injuries and chemistry issues prevented them from thriving alongside Anthony Davis.

Westbrook himself addressed the milestone after the game, calling it an honor to surpass Johnson and acknowledging the impact of one of the league’s all-time greats.

The Mavericks game also added another statistical accomplishment to his resume. Westbrook recorded one steal, making him just the 14th player in NBA history to reach 2,000 career steals. He is only the second guard to combine at least 25,000 points with 2,000 steals, joining Michael Jordan. Overall, his career achievements include an MVP award, nine All-Star selections,
nine All-NBA honors, two scoring titles, three assist titles, and a league-record 207 triple-doubles.

Through 31 games, Westbrook is averaging 14.6 points, 7.2 assists, 6.8 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 29.3 minutes per game while shooting 43.1% from the field and 36.1% from three-point range. Though the Kings are struggling at 8-23 and sit 14th in the Western Conference, Westbrook has remained a bright spot.

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