Chris Paul now owns the NBA record for consecutive games with at least 1 steal (currently at 107).
He currently leads the NBA in assists, assists per game, assists per 48 minutes, steals, steals per game, steals per 48 minutes, and Efficiency Ranking.
If he stays at his current pace, he will also accomplish something that hasn’t been done in 15 years – average 20 PPG and 10 APG for consecutive seasons (last accomplished by Tim Hardaway in the 1991-1992 and 1992-1993 seasons).
In the 2007-2008 NBA season, a very rare statistical feat was achieved – Chris Paul, the gifted young point guard for the New Orleans Hornets, finished his 3rd year with averages of 21.1 points and 11.6 assists per game.
“20-10″ is significant, but comparatively commonplace when talking about points (PPG) and rebounds (RPG). There are well over 50 players in NBA history who have had at least one 20 PPG / 10 RPG season, and there will almost always be around 2-5 players who do it in any given season.
20-10 in points and assists is another story. Prior to last season there were only 7 players in the entire history of the NBA that had ever accomplished that feat. Chris Paul became the 8th. This is the complete list of 20 PPG / 10 APG seasons (this data was obtained from the Basketball-Reference.com website):
Oscar Robertson (CIN) 1961-1962 30.8 PPG / 11.4 APG
Oscar Robertson (CIN) 1963-1964 31.4 PPG / 11.0 APG
Oscar Robertson (CIN) 1964-1965 30.4 PPG / 11.5 APG
Oscar Robertson (CIN) 1966-1966 31.3 PPG / 11.1 APG
Oscar Robertson (CIN) 1966-1967 30.5 PPG / 10.7 APG
Tiny Archibald (KCO) 1972-1973 34.0 PPG / 11.4 APG
Isiah Thomas (DET) 1983-1984 21.3 PPG / 11.1 APG
Isiah Thomas (DET) 1984-1985 21.2 PPG / 13.9 APG
Isiah Thomas (DET) 1985-1986 20.9 PPG / 10.8 APG
Isiah Thomas (DET) 1986-1987 20.6 PPG / 10.0 APG
Magic Johnson (LAL) 1986-1987 23.9 PPG / 12.2 APG
Magic Johnson (LAL) 1988-1989 22.5 PPG / 12.8 APG
Magic Johnson (LAL) 1989-1990 22.3 PPG / 11.5 APG
Michael Adams (DEN) 1990-1991 26.5 PPG / 10.5 APG
Kevin Johnson (PHO) 1988-1989 20.4 PPG / 12.2 APG
Kevin Johnson (PHO) 1989-1990 22.5 PPG / 11.4 APG
Kevin Johnson (PHO) 1990-1991 22.2 PPG / 10.1 APG
Tim Hardaway (GSW) 1991-1992 23.4 PPG / 10.0 APG
Tim Hardaway (GSW) 1992-1993 21.5 PPG / 10.6 APG
Chris Paul (NOH) 2007-2008 21.1 PPG / 11.6 APG
Some interesting facts:
Looking over the preceding list gives one a clear idea of how rare 20 PPG and 10 APG really is. Basically, there are 1-3 players that go 20-10 every decade. The Big O owned the 60’s. Tiny stands alone in the 70’s. In the 80’s, it was Isiah, Magic and KJ. In the 90’s it was KJ, Tim Hardaway and Michael Adams. Chris Paul is the first 20-10 player in the 21st century and he may very well end up being the only one in his decade.
Not surprisingly, no player had a 20-10 season prior to the advent of the 24 second shot clock in 1954. The game was played at a much slower pace in its beginnings, with most offensive strategies designed around maximizing ball possession to preserve leads. The stagnant half-court play that resulted made games lower-scoring and also minimized fast breaking, which can lead to easy assists.
Oscar Robertson is the only player to have multiple 30-10 seasons. His five 20-10 seasons (all of them 30-10) are the most of any player.
Nate “Tiny” Archibald is the only player other than the Big O to go 30-10 for a season and is still the only player to lead the NBA in PPG and APG in the same season.
Isiah Thomas leads in consecutive 20-10 seasons with 4. KJ is next with 3, and Tim Hardaway and the Big O have 2.
Michael Adams (5′10″) is the shortest 20-10 player and Magic, of course, is the tallest (6′8″).
At 22 years of age, Isiah, KJ, and Chris Paul are the youngest to go 20-10. Magic is the oldest person to accomplish the feat – his last 20-10 season came at age 30.
