What is the NBA Steals Record?
Contents
The NBA Steals Record is currently held by John Stockton who had 3,265 during his career.
Introduction
Steals are a defensive statistic in basketball, meaning players receive credit for possessions in which they stop their opponents from shooting. A steal can occur when a player:
-Takes the ball away from an opponent who is dribbling
-Takes the ball away from an opponent who is not dribbling but is still in control of the ball
-Tips the ball away from an opponent who is attempting to pass it to another player
A player can also be credited with a steal if he or she causes an opponent to turn the ball over, such as by trapping him or her in the corner.
What is the NBA Steals Record?
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the premier professional basketball league in the world. It is composed of 30 teams, 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. The NBA steal is a statistic that measures the number of times a defensive player successfully gains possession of the ball from an offensive player. The steals leader is the player with the most steals in a season.
The record for most steals in an NBA season is held by John Stockton, who had 3,265 during the 1984-85 season. He averaged 2.7 steals per game that season.
Who Holds the NBA Steals Record?
The current NBA steals leader is John Stockton, who racked up 3,265 during his 19-year career with the Utah Jazz. That’s an average of better than two per game!
How Was the NBA Steals Record Broken?
In the 1984-85 season, then Philadelphia 76ers guard Maurice Cheeks stole the ball 820 times. That mark stood as the NBA record for nearly 35 years until it was broken by Houston Rockets guard Russell Westbrook in the 2019-20 season.
Westbrook needed just two steals in Houston’s final game of the regular season against the Oklahoma City Thunder to eclipse Cheeks’ record. He finished the game with 10 steals, giving him 821 for the season.
Westbrook is now the NBA’s all-time leader in steals, a distinction he is likely to hold for many years to come.
Conclusion
The current NBA steals record is held by John Stockton, who racked up 3,265 during his illustrious 19-year career with the Utah Jazz.
