Deadspin | LeBron James reaches 12K assists as Lakers crush Suns 
Apr 10, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) controls the ball against Phoenix Suns forward Ryan Dunn (0) during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images LeBron James scored 28 points and dished 12 assists to become the fourth player in NBA history to top 12,000 in a career, leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a convincing 101-73 victory over the visiting Phoenix Suns on Friday night.
Luke Kennard added 19 points in the victory that assured Los Angeles (52-29) will finish no lower than fourth place in the Western Conference and have homecourt advantage in a first-round playoff series.
The Lakers remain one game behind the third-place Denver Nuggets (53-28) with one game to play, and Los Angeles owns the tiebreaker edge.
Dillon Brooks scored 12 points and reserve Royce O’Neale added 11 for the Suns (44-37), who were without star Devin Booker (ankle). Phoenix scored just 25 second-half points in a contest that meant nothing after it previously locked up the No. 7 spot in the West and a home play-in game.
The Suns’ Grayson Allen exited in the second quarter due to a left hamstring injury and didn’t return. He had eight points in 13 minutes.
Assist No. 12,000 came less than five minutes into the game when James collected a rebound on the defensive end and threw a long chest pass to the other end. Deandre Ayton caught the ball over the smaller Collin Gillespie and put it in the hoop.
That was James’ second assist of the contest. At the game’s end, James’ total sat at 12,010.
Former Utah Jazz star John Stockton is the all-time leader with 15,806 career assists. Recently retired Chris Paul (12,552) is second and Jason Kidd (12,091) stands third.
Rui Hachimura added 13 points and Ayton scored 10 for the Lakers, who shot 50.7% from the field and were 8 of 20 (40%) from 3-point range.
James had 14 points and five assists in the first quarter. Los Angeles led 30-14 late in the period before the Suns went on a 22-5 burst and took a 36-35 lead in the second quarter on a 3-pointer by O’Neale.
The Lakers recovered to lead 57-48 at halftime. James had 22 points and Kennard added 17 in the half.
Late in the third quarter, James scored on a layup to push the lead to 17. Then he stole the ball and cruised uncontested for a ferocious dunk that made it 79-60 with 1:12 left in the period.
Los Angeles held an 81-64 edge entering the fourth quarter and led by as many as 29 as Phoenix managed just nine final-quarter points on 4-of-21 shooting (19%).
The Suns committed 24 turnovers and shot just 33.8%, including a shaky 7 of 40 (17.5%) from behind the arc.
–Field Level Media
#Deadspin #LeBron #James #reaches #12K #assists #Lakers #crush #Suns
Apr 10, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) controls the ball against Phoenix Suns forward Ryan Dunn (0) during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images LeBron James scored 28 points and dished 12 assists to become the fourth player in NBA history to top 12,000 in a career, leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a convincing 101-73 victory over the visiting Phoenix Suns on Friday night.
Luke Kennard added 19 points in the victory that assured Los Angeles (52-29) will finish no lower than fourth place in the Western Conference and have homecourt advantage in a first-round playoff series.
The Lakers remain one game behind the third-place Denver Nuggets (53-28) with one game to play, and Los Angeles owns the tiebreaker edge.
Dillon Brooks scored 12 points and reserve Royce O’Neale added 11 for the Suns (44-37), who were without star Devin Booker (ankle). Phoenix scored just 25 second-half points in a contest that meant nothing after it previously locked up the No. 7 spot in the West and a home play-in game.
The Suns’ Grayson Allen exited in the second quarter due to a left hamstring injury and didn’t return. He had eight points in 13 minutes.
Assist No. 12,000 came less than five minutes into the game when James collected a rebound on the defensive end and threw a long chest pass to the other end. Deandre Ayton caught the ball over the smaller Collin Gillespie and put it in the hoop.
That was James’ second assist of the contest. At the game’s end, James’ total sat at 12,010.
Former Utah Jazz star John Stockton is the all-time leader with 15,806 career assists. Recently retired Chris Paul (12,552) is second and Jason Kidd (12,091) stands third.
Rui Hachimura added 13 points and Ayton scored 10 for the Lakers, who shot 50.7% from the field and were 8 of 20 (40%) from 3-point range.
James had 14 points and five assists in the first quarter. Los Angeles led 30-14 late in the period before the Suns went on a 22-5 burst and took a 36-35 lead in the second quarter on a 3-pointer by O’Neale.
The Lakers recovered to lead 57-48 at halftime. James had 22 points and Kennard added 17 in the half.
Late in the third quarter, James scored on a layup to push the lead to 17. Then he stole the ball and cruised uncontested for a ferocious dunk that made it 79-60 with 1:12 left in the period.
Los Angeles held an 81-64 edge entering the fourth quarter and led by as many as 29 as Phoenix managed just nine final-quarter points on 4-of-21 shooting (19%).
The Suns committed 24 turnovers and shot just 33.8%, including a shaky 7 of 40 (17.5%) from behind the arc.
–Field Level Media
![Brandon Aiyuk’s 49ers divorce keeps getting uglier Brandon Aiyuk’s war of words with the San Francisco 49ers reached new heights on Tuesday.In a video posted to social media, Aiyuk blasted the organization as “stupid” for paying him, and “mad” at themselves for how the team was handling the situation.The video came after Aiyuk posted one over the weekend, where he called the 49ers “little-ass boys” who needed to “stop running from the bill.”The two videos are the wide receiver’s first lengthy public comments since the team placed him on the reserve/left team list back in December of last year. Aiyuk has not played in a game for the 49ers since midway through the 2024 season, when he suffered a torn ACL.Prior to the 2024 campaign, Aiyuk was a hold-in during training camp until he agreed to terms with the team on a new four-year extension worth up to $120 million.Head coach Kyle Shanahan, along with general manager John Lynch, continue to assert that Aiyuk has played his last snap for the 49ers. Speaking at the team’s end-of-season press conference in January, the coach indicated he had lost contact with Aiyuk, going on to say that “eventually you understand that it’s not going to change and you’ve got to move on with your football team.”On that January day, Lynch explicitly said that Aiyuk had “played his last snap with the Niners.”Then at the end of March at the league’s annual meetings, Shanahan maintained that stance, but did not put a timeframe on a resolution.“I don’t have a date for it, but I know eventually it’ll resolve itself,” Shanahan said in March. “Hopefully, we could get something for [him]. And I know we’re in no rush to do that. You’ve got to do what’s right for the Niners, and you’re not trying to hook up any other team as fast as you possibly can. Hopefully, we can get something for that, and it’ll take care of itself.”As far as what that resolution looks like, many believe Aiyuk will find a home with the Washington Commanders. Aiyuk played with Jayden Daniels at Arizona State, and over this past weekend did share a photos of himself wearing a Commanders hat.However, he is still technically under contract with San Francisco through the 2028 season. And while the 49ers did void the guaranteed money he was owed for 2026, the guaranteed money Aiyuk is owed for 2027 is still on the books.NFL insider Ian Rapoport addressed the situation on Monday.“First of all, here’s what the San Francisco 49ers would like: They have his rights, he’s not due any guaranteed money because he forfeited that by not showing up to his rehab,” said Rapoport. “So, they would like to trade him, probably to the Commanders, with his old friend Jayden Daniels and an organization that obviously knows him well, considering (Commanders general manager) Adam Peters was in San Francisco, and all that.“What the Commanders would like to do is sign him without having to trade him. … We’re in a situation where nobody wants to move at all. They’re all staring at each other. There’s really no deadline to make a move at all. So, until and unless everyone gets tired of Brandon Aiyuk sending Instagram messages, this is going to be a storyline that takes us through the summer.”Happy offseason, everyone. #Brandon #Aiyuks #49ers #divorce #uglier](https://i1.wp.com/platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/gettyimages-2183567424.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C78.534031413613&w=1200&ssl=1 "Brandon Aiyuk’s 49ers divorce keeps getting uglier Brandon Aiyuk’s war of words with the San Francisco 49ers reached new heights on Tuesday.In a video posted to social media, Aiyuk blasted the organization as “stupid” for paying him, and “mad” at themselves for how the team was handling the situation.The video came after Aiyuk posted one over the weekend, where he called the 49ers “little-ass boys” who needed to “stop running from the bill.”The two videos are the wide receiver’s first lengthy public comments since the team placed him on the reserve/left team list back in December of last year. Aiyuk has not played in a game for the 49ers since midway through the 2024 season, when he suffered a torn ACL.Prior to the 2024 campaign, Aiyuk was a hold-in during training camp until he agreed to terms with the team on a new four-year extension worth up to $120 million.Head coach Kyle Shanahan, along with general manager John Lynch, continue to assert that Aiyuk has played his last snap for the 49ers. Speaking at the team’s end-of-season press conference in January, the coach indicated he had lost contact with Aiyuk, going on to say that “eventually you understand that it’s not going to change and you’ve got to move on with your football team.”On that January day, Lynch explicitly said that Aiyuk had “played his last snap with the Niners.”Then at the end of March at the league’s annual meetings, Shanahan maintained that stance, but did not put a timeframe on a resolution.“I don’t have a date for it, but I know eventually it’ll resolve itself,” Shanahan said in March. “Hopefully, we could get something for [him]. And I know we’re in no rush to do that. You’ve got to do what’s right for the Niners, and you’re not trying to hook up any other team as fast as you possibly can. Hopefully, we can get something for that, and it’ll take care of itself.”As far as what that resolution looks like, many believe Aiyuk will find a home with the Washington Commanders. Aiyuk played with Jayden Daniels at Arizona State, and over this past weekend did share a photos of himself wearing a Commanders hat.However, he is still technically under contract with San Francisco through the 2028 season. And while the 49ers did void the guaranteed money he was owed for 2026, the guaranteed money Aiyuk is owed for 2027 is still on the books.NFL insider Ian Rapoport addressed the situation on Monday.“First of all, here’s what the San Francisco 49ers would like: They have his rights, he’s not due any guaranteed money because he forfeited that by not showing up to his rehab,” said Rapoport. “So, they would like to trade him, probably to the Commanders, with his old friend Jayden Daniels and an organization that obviously knows him well, considering (Commanders general manager) Adam Peters was in San Francisco, and all that.“What the Commanders would like to do is sign him without having to trade him. … We’re in a situation where nobody wants to move at all. They’re all staring at each other. There’s really no deadline to make a move at all. So, until and unless everyone gets tired of Brandon Aiyuk sending Instagram messages, this is going to be a storyline that takes us through the summer.”Happy offseason, everyone. #Brandon #Aiyuks #49ers #divorce #uglier")
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