Jason Kidd delivered his 10,337th career assist against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday in a 130-99 rout, and soared past Mark Jackson to grab the No. 2 spot on the NBA career assists list.


Jason racked up nine assists on Saturday, adding to his astonishing career record — the second most in NBA history (Getty Images).

In the tenth minute of the third quarter, No. 2 dished out an alley-oop pass to rookie Roddy Beaubois to put the Mavericks up 70-53. While assists usually only lead to two or three points, this assist landed J-Kidd in the No. 2 spot, surrounded by NBA legends.

J-Kidd trails John Stockton, who holds the No. 1 spot, by over 5,000 assists.

No. 2 told ESPN about his respect for Stockton. He doesn’t think he, or anyone else, will be touching Stockton’s record.

“Some records are meant to stay where they are. I don’t see anybody breaking that any time soon.”

Dallas coach Rick Carlisle put Jason’s accomplishment into perspective for the Dallas Morning News:

 

"He has ability to not only see (the court) but to deliver the ball in rhythm on time and on target. I’ve seen some of the most amazing passes in the last year and a half – 50 foot bounce passes with side spin on them that come up in the guy’s hand to finish on the break. Amazing stuff. And he understands the importance of simplicity. He’s just one of the rare greats.”

Jason finished with seven assists for the night.

KIDD’S TOP 10 DISHES
No. 2 has dished out 10,350 assists in his career. These are the 10 games he did the most damage distributing the ball.

10. Dec. 12, 1995:  In his second season in the NBA, No. 2 collected 18 assists in a win over Seattle.

9. Apr. 7, 2007: J-Kidd dished out 18 assists against Washington.

8. Nov. 12, 2006: No. 2 hit a triple double with 18 assists, 15 points and 11 rebounds against Washington.

7. Dec. 27, 2001: He collected 18 dimes against Detroit.

6. Dec. 1, 2001: J-Kidd handed out 19 assists and 20 points against Boston.

5. March 3, 2001: No. 2 had another 19-assist game against San Antonio.

4. March 4, 1999: J-Kidd had 19 assists in a Phoenix Suns jersey in a win over Seattle.

3. Apr. 5, 2008: Twenty assists and 19 points from the 36 year-old veteran fueled the Mavericks past Phoenix.

2. Feb 8, 1996: In his second season in the NBA, J-Kidd dished out 25 assists and 20 points in a 136-133 win over Utah.

1. Nov. 25, 2009: No. 2’s fifth assist of the night put him past Mark Jackson, No. 2 on the all-time assists list. J-Kidd is sitting comfortably in the No. 2 spot with 10,350 career assists.

WEEKEND SPLIT
Jason followed up his record setting night with a 113-92 win over the Indiana Pacers on Thursday, finishing with 11 points, five rebounds and four assists. Friday, No. 2 and the Mavericks, playing their third game in four days, lost 111-95 to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Jason managed nine points, nine assists and two rebounds in defeat.

NEXT UP
Jason will continue to dish out the assists tonight against the Philadelphia 76ers at 8:30 on Fox Sports Network.

J-Kidd told the Dallas Morning News that he’s excited to play the league’s besy young teams.

“Against the elite teams, you got to figure out where you are. We’ve had some good games against elite teams and we’ve had some bad ones. We’re happy, but you can’t be satisfied. We’re winning ballgames shorthanded and that just shows how deep we are and how good we can be when we get healthy.”

RELATED STORIES
Kidd passes Jackson on all-time assists list as Mavs blast Rockets (ESPN.com, Nov. 29, 2009)
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=291125010
Kidd moves to 2nd all-time assists in Mav’s win (Associated Press, Nov. 26, 2009)
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iestKgGmwogPjPFctDaY_d_qVmWQD9C6VV000
Jason Kidd statistics (DatabaseBasketball.com, Nov. 29, 2009)
http://www.databaseBasketball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=KIDDJA01
December presents less demanding schedule for Dallas Mavericks (Dallas Morning News, Nov. 29, 2009)
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/stories/113009dnspomavsbriefs.2c11618.html