With his second steal against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday, Houston Rockets guard Chris Paul passed Mookie Blaylock for the No. 11 spot on the All-Time Steals leaderboard. He has now stolen the ball a total of 2,076 times in his 14 NBA seasons.
Paul and Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James (No. 15) are the only active players in the top 25. Given Paul’s current per-game average of 2.1 steals and the Rockets’ 27 games remaining, it is conceivable that he will pass both Karl Malone (2,085 steals) and Alvin Robertson (2,112 steals) this season.
At 33 years old, Paul has three seasons left on his current contract with the Rockets after this one. Players like Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler, and Scottie Pippen could see their totals surpassed in years to come. But Paul is still over 1,000 steals behind the all-time leader, John Stockton (3,265 steals), who played 19 seasons with near immaculate health.
Paul has led the league in steals per game six times, in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014. He is presently tied for fourth-highest average in 2018-19 with Philadelphia 76ers wing Jimmy Butler. Teammate James Harden holds the No. 3 spot (2.2), behind the Oklahoma City duo of Russell Westbrook (2.3) and Paul George (2.3).
