Harden's assists rose to 13th in NBA history, and his total assists approached the 8,000 mark

On January 31 , the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the San Antonio Spurs 128-116 at home , achieving a crucial victory. In addition to the team's overall outstanding performance, James Harden also reached an important milestone in his career in this game - he officially surpassed NBA star Rod Strickland , and his career assists rose to 13th in NBA history . So far, Harden's total assists in the regular season have reached 7,998 times, just one step away from the 8,000 assists mark .

Before the game, Harden had 7,986 career assists, only one behind Strickland. Shortly after the first quarter, Harden assisted teammate Norman Powell to hit a three-pointer, successfully tying Strickland's record. Afterwards, he made several more exquisite passes and completed 5 assists by the end of the first quarter, thus officially surpassing Strickland and rising to 13th place in the NBA's historical assists list.

Throughout the game, Harden performed well and finally delivered impressive statistics of 21 points, 3 rebounds, 12 assists and 3 steals. He not only showed excellent passing ability in organization, but also provided stable output to the team on the offensive end. With 12 assists in this game, Harden's career total assists increased to 7,998, further consolidating his position on the historical assists list.

After Harden completed this historic moment, the official social media of the Los Angeles Clippers also immediately released a celebratory update, congratulating Harden, and wrote: "Congratulations to James Harden for surpassing Strickland and rising to 13th place in the NBA's all-time assists list!" This is not only an affirmation of Harden's career, but also highlights his extraordinary influence in organizing the offense.

According to statistics, Harden still has a lot of room to move up in the NBA's historical assists list. He is currently nearly 1,000 assists away from Gary Payton (8,966 assists), who is ranked 12th. However, considering that Harden still maintains a stable assist efficiency, as long as he continues to stay healthy and maintains a high appearance rate, he is expected to continue to climb in the future and even hit the top ten in history.

This season, Harden's role in the Clippers is not limited to scoring. He is more responsible for the team's organization, working with Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Russell Westbrook to build a strong offensive system for the Clippers. As the season progresses, Harden's passing ability is crucial to the team's championship.

Next, Harden will continue to lead the Clippers to a higher ranking in the Western Conference, and his personal data is expected to improve further. With the assists number about to break the 8,000 mark, Harden's career milestones are still being written.