Russell Westbrook passes Gary Payton for 10th in all-time assists

The nine-time All-Star is just the third player still playing today to enter the top 10 list of assists in history. On Monday night, Russell Westbrook advanced one rung in the NBA record books thanks to his statistical supremacy. During the Lakers' 121-104 loss in Brooklyn, the former Kia MVP surpassed Hall of Fame guard Gary Payton for 10th place all-time in assists, moving him up to third place among current players. In the league's history, Westbrook is only the second player to average a triple-double in a season. Oscar Robertson alone held the record for more than 50 years, but Westbrook broke it three times. "When I played in the NBA, I never imagined myself in this situation or standing next to some of the "I'm just genuinely glad and thankful for the chance to keep competing at the greatest level, and I don't take any of it for granted," Westbrook said. This most recent accomplishment is made possible by Westbrook's new position as the sixth man for a Lakers team that is hoping to make the playoffs, which is quite different from his MVP days.In Oklahoma City, Westbrook, who was selected by the then-Seattle SuperSonics with the fourth overall choice in 2008, bloomed into an All-NBA guard with Kevin Durant and James Harden. When they left the Thunder through free agency and trade, respectively, Westbrook carried even more of the burden.Westbrook has jumped about in his latter years, spending time with the Thunder (2019–20), Houston Rockets (2020–21), Washington Wizards (2020–21), and most recently Los Angeles. After winning the scoring title twice with OKC, Westbrook won the league in assists in 2020–21, his lone season with the Wizards. This was his third assist crown overall.Westbrook, a nine-time All-Star and part of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, needs just over 100 assists to surpass Isiah Thomas (9,061), who is now second on the all-time assists record. In terms of assists, he sits 8th behind Oscar Robertson (916), who was the last player to average a triple-double before Westbrook achieved it in 2016–17, and 1,170 assists behind Lakers icon Magic Johnson (10,141).