CLEVELAND -- LeBron James is the first frontcourt player in NBA history to record 7,000 assists in his career.
James reached the milestone when he found Tristan Thompson for a dunk with 6:33 remaining in the first quarter of the Cleveland Cavaliers' 116-105 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night. It was James' fourth assist of the period.
James finished with 44 points, 10 assists and 9 rebounds.
"I really don't know, I don't know what to say," James said. "I've played with two great organizations that I've been able to do what I do. They've allowed me to be the player that I want to be. It just shows that's the triple threat of me, to rebound, to pass, to put the ball in the hole a little bit. I'm just honored, just blessed and I just try to continue to give it to my teammates, give it to my fans, give it to this organization every single night that I go out there.
"That's my job, to be the only person ever to put those numbers up. It's pretty cool because this is the game I love, this is the game I've watched my whole life growing up, so um, it's incredible."
James set the assists record for forwards during the 2014-15 season, when he leapfrogged Scottie Pippen's career mark of 6,135.
"I've always [taken] a lot of pride, and I get more of a rush seeing my teammates succeed more than myself," James said at the time. "And that's what an assist is all about. I was taught the game the right way, and seeing my teammates succeed has always been something that I've cared about more than anything, and that's what it's all about."
James ranks 16th on the all-time assists list, with only guards ahead of him. If James keep up his season average of 9.1 assists, which would be a career high, he would finish the 2016-17 campaign ranked 12th all time in assists, passing Tim Hardaway (7,095), Terry Porter (7,160), Lenny Wilkens (7,211) and Mo Cheeks (7,392) in the process.
On Friday, James passed Elvin Hayes for ninth on the all-time scoring list.
James entered Saturday ranked 103rd in all-time rebounds, needing 48 boards to pass Truck Robinson's mark of 7,267 and crack the top 100.
