Who Is The Best Passer In The NBA?
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We all know that LeBron James is one of the best players in the NBA. But who is the best passer in the league?
There are a lot of great passers in the NBA, but there are a few who stand out above the rest.
Rajon Rondo is one of the best passers in the league. He has great court vision and always seems to find the open man.
Chris Paul is another great passer in the NBA. He is always looking
LeBron James
LeBron James is the best passer in the NBA. He is a 6’8″, 250-pound point forward who was drafted 1st overall in the 2003 NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. In his 16-year career, he has averaged 7.4 assists per game. He is a 3-time NBA champion, a 4-time NBA MVP, and a 14-time NBA All-Star.
Regular Season
In the regular season, LeBron James is the best passer in the NBA. He averages 10.6 assists per game, which is the most in the league. He also has a career-high assist percentage of 33.3 percent. This means that he assists on one-third of his team’s baskets when he is on the court. James is also a very good rebounder, averaging 7.4 rebounds per game.
Playoffs
In the playoffs, James has continued to be one of the most impactful players in the league. He is currently averaging 27.1 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 8.9 assists per game in the postseason. He is also shooting 50.4% from the field and 36.3% from three-point range. James has led the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals in each of the last three seasons and is looking to win his fourth championship this year.
While his scoring average is down from his regular season average of 28.0 points per game, James has been efficient in other areas of his game. He is averaging a career-high 8.9 assists per game in the playoffs and is also shooting a higher percentage from three-point range than he did during the regular season. In addition to his scoring and passing, James has also been a force on the glass, averaging 10.3 rebounds per game in the playoffs.
Chris Paul
Chris Paul is the best passer in the NBA. Not only can he make the simple pass, but he can also make the tough pass. He has great court vision and always seems to make the right pass. He is also a great leader and motivator.
Regular Season
In the regular season, Chris Paul has been the best passer in the NBA nine times. He is the only player in NBA history to average at least 10 assists per game in nine different seasons.
Playoffs
In the playoffs, Chris Paul is a different player. He ups his scoring to 18.8 points per game while upping his assists to 9.7 per game and his steals to 2.4 per game. His Player Efficiency Rating (PER) of 26.5 is the highest of any point guard in the playoffs since PER was first tracked in 1985, according to Basketball Reference. He has led the Los Angeles Clippers to the best record in the Western Conference and put them in position to make a run at their first NBA Finals appearance.
Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook is an American professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a nine-time NBA All-Star, and he has been honored with the All-Star Game MVP Award three times. He is also a two-time NBA scoring champion and the 2017 NBA Most Valuable Player. Westbrook has led the league in assists four times.
Regular Season
In the 2017-2018 regular season, Russell Westbrook averaged 10.3 assists per game, which was the most in the NBA. He also became the first player in NBA history to average a triple double for a season, with 21.9 points per game, 11.1 rebounds per game, and 10.3 assists per game.
Playoffs
In the playoffs, Westbrook averaged a triple-double of 21.0 points, 11.2 assists, and 10.7 rebounds while shooting 42% from the field and 31.6% from three. He led the Thunder to the Conference Finals where they lost in seven games to the eventual NBA champions, the Golden State Warriors. For his efforts, he was named a finalist for the Most Valuable Player Award and was named to the All-NBA Second Team.
James Harden
James Harden is currently the best passer in the NBA. He is averaging 11.2 assists per game and has a true shooting percentage of 62.5%. He is also averaging 1.9 turnovers per game, which is the lowest among all starting point guards in the NBA.
Regular Season
In the regular season, Harden averaged a career-high 11.2 assists per game to go along with 29.0 points and 8.0 rebounds. He led the NBA in scoring average for the second straight season and became the first player in Rockets history to average at least 29 points and 11 assists in a season. His assist total was the third-highest in a single season in franchise history, trailing only Hakeem Olajuwon (1985-86) and Clyde Drexler (1988-89).
Playoffs
In the playoffs, Harden has averaged 27.4 points, 7.4 assists, 6.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game while shooting 44.2 percent from the field and 35.7 percent from three-point range. He has also been to the free throw line more than any other player in the playoffs, averaging 9.6 attempts per game.
Rajon Rondo
Rajon Rondo is one of the best passers in the NBA. He has great court vision and always seems to find the open man. Rondo is also a very good rebounder for his position and is a very good defender.
Regular Season
In the regular season, Rondo led the league in assists per game (11.7), total assists (1094), and assist percentage (40.3%). He also ranked second in steals per game (2.3), third in steals (196), and sixth in defensive win shares (4.7). For his efforts, he was named to the All-Star team for the second time in his career. He was also named to the All-NBA Third Team and to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team.
Playoffs
In the playoffs, Rondo has averaged 11.2 assists per game. He is the only player in NBA history to average double digit assists in the playoffs for his career. He is also one of only two players (the other being Magic Johnson) to have averaged at least 10 assists in each of his first 10 seasons in the league.
Kyrie Irving
Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets is the best passer in the NBA. He averaged 8.2 assists per game this season and has a career average of 6.9 assists per game. Kyrie is also a great scorer, averaging 27.4 points per game this season.
Regular Season
In the regular season, Kyrie Irving was the best passer in the NBA. He averaged 8.9 assists per game, which was 1.8 higher than the next best player, Russell Westbrook. Kyrie also had a higher assist percentage than any other player in the league, at 35.8%. This means that he assisted on 35.8% of his team’s made baskets while he was on the court. Not only did Kyrie lead the league in assists, but he also did so while playing fewer minutes than any other player in the top 10 in assists per game.
Playoffs
In the playoffs, Irving has only gotten better, and he solidified his status as one of the best players in the NBA with his performance in the 2016 NBA Finals. He averaged 27.1 points and 5.8 assists per game in the Finals, and he hit some of the biggest shots in Cavaliers history, including the game-winning three-pointer in Game 7.
John Wall
John Wall is the best passer in the NBA. He is a point guard for the Washington Wizards and is one of the quickest players in the league. Wall is averaging 10.7 assists per game, which is the most in the NBA. He is also averaging 2.2 steals per game, which is the second most in the NBA. Wall is a great scorer, but his true value is in his ability to set up his teammates.
Regular Season
In the regular season, Wall averaged 10.7 assists per game, which was the second most in the NBA behind only Russell Westbrook (10.4). He also averaged 2.6 steals per game, which was tied for fourth most in the NBA. Wall led the league in total assists (677) and steals (196), and he was one of just four players (Westbrook, James Harden and LeBron James) to average at least 10.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.
Playoffs
In the playoffs, Wall averaged 19.4 points and 10 assists per game, leading the Wizards to the Eastern Conference Semifinals where they lost to the eventual NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers in six games.
Damian Lillard
In the 2015-2016 season, Damian Lillard averaged 7.2 assists per game, which was good for fifth in the NBA. He also shot 44.4% from the field and 36.1% from three-point range. Lillard has improved his assists per game and three-point shooting percentage every season since he entered the league.
Regular Season
In the regular season, Lillard averaged 7.0 assists per game, which was tied for fifth in the NBA. He also averaged 6.9 assists per game in his last three seasons, which is the most among active players. He has helped the Blazers become one of the top passing teams in the league.
Playoffs
In his seven seasons in the NBA, all with the Portland Trail Blazers, Damian Lillard has established himself as one of the league’s most lethal scorers. He’s averaged over 25 points per game in each of his last four seasons, and he’s currently averaging 28 points and 7.8 assists per game in 2019-20. But what makes Lillard so special is his ability to take over games in the clutch. He’s hit numerous game-winning shots in his career, and he thrives when the pressure is at its highest.
Lillard’s greatness was on full display during the 2020 playoffs. He averaged 31 points and 6.9 assists per game while leading the Blazers to the Western Conference Finals. In Game 5 of the Conference Finals against the Denver Nuggets, Lillard had one of the best performances of his career. He scored 42 points and dished out 11 assists to help Portland stave off elimination and force a Game 6. It was an incredible display of scoring and playmaking, and it cemented Lillard’s status as one of the best players in the NBA.
Kyle Lowry
Kyle Lowry is one of the best passers in the NBA. He is a point guard for the Toronto Raptors. Lowry is a four-time All-Star and he was named to the All-NBA Third Team in 2016. He is also a two-time Olympic gold medalist.
Regular Season
In the regular season, Kyle Lowry is the best passer in the NBA. He average 10.5 assists per game and has a career-high of 12.8 assists per game. He is also a very good three-point shooter, averaging 36.3% from three-point range.
Playoffs
In the playoffs, Lowry has been even better, shooting 46.7% from three and averaging 21.8 points, 7.5 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game. He’s also been clutch, hitting multiple game-winners in the postseason.
Stephen Curry
Stephen Curry is the best passer in the NBA. He is a point guard for the Golden State Warriors. Curry is a nine-time NBA All-Star and two-time NBA MVP. He has also been selected to the All-NBA First Team five times.
Regular Season
In 2015-16, Curry averaged 8.0 assists per game, leading the league in assists per game for the second consecutive season. He also became the first player in NBA history to average at least 30 points and eight assists per game in consecutive seasons.
Playoffs
Stephen Curry is one of the best shooters in NBA history. He is a two-time MVP and three-time champion. But what makes him so great?
Curry is one of the best passers in the NBA. In the playoffs, he averaged 8.2 assists per game. That’s more than any other player in NBA history.
Curry is also a great scorer. In the playoffs, he averaged 27.3 points per game. That’s the fourth-highest scoring average in NBA history.
Curry is a great shooter, passer, and scorer. That’s why he’s one of the greatest players in NBA history.
