James Harden Sets Rockets Assist Record, Passes Calvin Murphy

James Harden claimed another Rockets' record in Thursday night's win over the Clippers, passing Calvin Murphy for the most assists in franchise history.

Murphy retired in 1983 after 4,402 assists in 13 seasons with the Rockets. Harden entered Thursday night tied with Murphy for the franchise record, then passed the former point guard and current Houston broadcaster with a 10-assist night at the Staples Center.

Harden needed just 573 games to break Murphy's record. Murphy logged 1,002 career games with the Rockets from 1970-83

"I’ve always said that if any of my records fall, I want them to be broken by somebody of quality. Not somebody that accidentally stepped into it," Murphy said on the Rockets' television broadcast on Monday. "James Harden is more than qualified to break any of Calvin Murphy’s records."

The 2017-18 MVP is currently the Rockets' franchise leader in threes and assists. Harden enters Saturday's game in Phoenix with 16,909 career points with the Rockets, 9,602 points behind Hakeem Olajuwon for the team record. Harden scored 2,818 points in 2018-19, and 2,191 the prior year.

The two-time scoring champion has climbed into the top-50 in the league's all-time points leaderboard this season. Harden sits 46th all-time, one spot ahead of Knicks legend Bernard King and six spots ahead of Russell Westbrook. Harden is on pace to move into the top 40 in points this season.

Harden and the Rockets advanced to 19–9 this year with Thursday's win over the Clippers. They will face the Suns on Saturday on the second leg of a four-game road trip.