Los Angeles Lakers guard Russell Westbrook owns one of the 10 best assist totals in NBA history after passing Hall of Famer Gary Payton on Monday.
Westbrook dished out 10 assists in the Lakers’ 121–104 loss to the Brooklyn Nets in New York, giving him 8,972 for his career. He surpassed Payton’s total of 8,966 when he set up Thomas Bryant for a dunk with 42.8 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
By season’s end, Westbrook likely will catch Isiah Thomas, who is in ninth place with 9,061 assists. After that, he would be pursuing No. 8 Oscar Robertson (9,887) and No. 7 Magic Johnson (10,141).
Westbrook’s teammate, LeBron James, is in sixth place on the list with 10,327 assists, seven behind Mark Jackson. James did not play on Monday due to a sore left ankle….