Warriors star Stephen Curry passes Kareem for milestone you wouldn’t expect
“When you try your best but you don’t succeed.” Perhaps that is what’s running through Stephen Curry’s mind right now after he saw his Golden State Warriors falter once more on the road, this time suffering a 134-126 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers despite a 50-point performance from him.
Nonetheless, as crucial as this defeat could prove to be to their playoff seeding, Curry will, at the very least, get a bit of consolation from his performance on the night.
After dropping six dimes to go along with his 50-piece, Stephen Curry now ranks 48th on the on the all-time assists list. Ending the night with 5,664 career dimes, the Warriors star has now surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (5,660) on the assists totem pole.
What makes this feat an unexpected one is that Abdul-Jabbar, as much of a trailblazer and legend as he is, isn’t particularly known for his ability to distribute the basketball. He is a center after all, unlike Stephen Curry, who handles the ball a fair amount of time for the Warriors. However, if you play the second most games in NBA history with 1,560 like the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers legend has, you’re bound to accrue some counting stats along the way.
Nevertheless, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was certainly a better playmaker than many remember him to be. Back in the 1978-79 season, he averaged 5.4 assists for the Lakers. With tthe threat of his patented skyhook, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that he was able to sprinkle in some impressive interior passing to complement his unstoppable offensive game.
As for the Warriors star, he needs 32 more assists to pass the legend next to him on the all-time assists list — Larry Bird. It should take Curry around six games to surpass Bird, given his assists per game average on the year.
At the end of the day, this will give nothing but cold comfort to both Curry and Warriors fans. They missed a chance to seal the tiebreaker over the Clippers by winning the season series (if the season ended today with both teams having the same record, the Clippers win the tiebreaker by virtue of a better record against the Pacific Division).
Nonetheless, the Dubs will have to find a way to snap their road rut as they take on the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena on Friday.
