Chris Paul passes Karl Malone for No. 10 on all-time steals list

Thursday night against the Miami Heat, Chris Paul entered the top 10 of the NBA’s all-time steals leaders.

Paul passed Karl Malone for 10th place at 2,086 steals and became the third Houston Rockets player in the top 10. He also bumped only the second big man in the top 10, a stat heavily dominated by guards.

The only other big in the top 10?

Answer: Hakeem Olajuwon (18 seasons, 2,162 steals) - whom Paul trails by 76 steals for 8th place.

Can we take a second to appreciate that? Because you already know we are.

Olajuwon, a 7-foot, low-post, back-to-the-basket player, sits at number eight on the steals list. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, in the 17 seasons that they counted steals in his career, had only 1,160 of them. Kevin Garnett had 1,859 steals in 21 seasons. And Skip Bayless’ beloved Manu Ginobli, a guard, had only 1,392 steals in 16 seasons. That’s just incredible.

Anyways, I digress.

Congratulations to Chris Paul, and here’s to hopefully catching Alvin Robertson for No. 9 later this season.