Who Has the Most Assists in the NBA?
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We take a look at who has racked up the most assists in the NBA so far this season.
LeBron James
LeBron James is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is widely considered to be one of the greatest players in NBA history. James has appeared in fifteen NBA Finals, including nine straight with the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers. He has won four NBA championships, four NBA Most Valuable Player Awards, four NBA Finals MVP Awards, and two Olympic gold medals.
Regular season
In the National Basketball Association (NBA), the assists leaders are the players with the highest assists per game averages in a given season.
The NBA began tracking assists as a stat in 1984–85, but it is generally accepted that Norm Van Lier was the league’s first true assists leader, as he averaged 11.4 per game while playing for the Chicago Bulls in 1968–69. Van Lier’s mark remained the record for almost two decades, until Magic Johnson averaged 12.3 per game with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1987–88. In 2019–20, James Harden became the first player ever to average over 10 assists per game in consecutive seasons, averaging 10.1 assists over 82 games in both 2018–19 and 2019–20.
Players through history have had significantly different approaches to distributing the ball; some have specialized in being “pass first” point guards who rack up a high number of assists, while others focus more on scoring and defer to their teammates only when necessary. George Karl remarked that “a lot of guys who score a lot of points don’t necessarily make their teammates better.” Not coincidentally, many of the league’s all-time leading scorers are not among its all-time leaders in assists.
Playoffs
In the playoffs, James has averaged 8.7 assists per game. He is currently the all-time leader in postseason assists with 1,188, and counting. Among active players, only Rajon Rondo (892) and Chris Paul (893) have more assists in the playoffs than James.
Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook currently has the most assists in the NBA with 10.4 per game. He is closely followed by LeBron James with 9.2 assists per game. Westbrook is averaging a triple double for the season with 26.6 points, 10.4 assists, and 10.1 rebounds per game. He is having an incredible season and is on pace to break the record for most assists in a season.
Regular season
In the regular season, Westbrook has led the league in assists four times (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019), and is one of only five players to do so in the 21st century. He is also one of only six players in NBA history to average a triple-double for a season. He did so in 2016–17 with 31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 10.4 assists per game, joining Oscar Robertson (1961–62), Wilt Chamberlain (1967–68), Magic Johnson (1981–82 and 1982–83), Michael Jordan (1988–89), and Larry Bird (1984–85) as the only players ever to achieve the feat.
Playoffs
In the playoffs, Westbrook has averaged a triple-double in points, rebounds and assists per game. He is the first player in NBA history to average a triple-double in the playoffs, and he did it in just five games. He is also the first player to have two triple-doubles in the playoffs since Magic Johnson in 1981.
Chris Paul
As of January 2020, Chris Paul has the most assists in the NBA with 9,181. He is closely followed by LeBron James with 8,663 assists. Other notable names in the top ten are Russell Westbrook, James Harden, and Rajon Rondo.
Regular season
In the regular season, Chris Paul has the most assists per game with 10.7. He is followed by LeBron James with 8.6 and Rajon Rondo with 9.8.
Playoffs
In the playoffs, Chris Paul has averaged 9.0 assists per game-the fourth highest average in NBA history among players who have played at least 20 playoff games. Only Magic Johnson (11.2), LeBron James (10.7), and Jason Kidd (9.1) have higher career playoff assist averages than Paul.
James Harden
James Harden, shooting guard for the Houston Rockets, is currently leading the NBA in assists per game with an average of 11.2. He is followed closely by Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder, averaging 10.4 assists per game. A large portion of Harden’s assists come from his ability to drive to the basket and draw fouls, as he is currently leading the league in free throw attempts.
Regular season
In the regular season, Harden led the league in scoring (30.4 points per game) and was second in assists (8.8 per game). He also averaged 5.4 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game, and shot 44.0 percent from the field and 36.1 percent from three-point range. He was named to the All-NBA First Team for the fourth consecutive season, and was also named the NBA MVP for the 2017–18 season.
Playoffs
In the playoffs, Harden has continued to be one of the best players in the league. He has averaged 29.5 points, 7.5 assists, and 6.5 rebounds per game while shooting 44.2 percent from the field and 36.7 percent from three-point range. He has also been one of the best defenders in the league, averaging 2.1 steals per game.
Kyle Lowry
Kyle Lowry is currently in his eleventh season in the NBA, all with the Toronto Raptors. As of February 12th, 2020, he has the most assists in the NBA this season with 8.7 assists per game.
Regular season
In the regular season, Lowry ranks fourth among active players in assists per game, behind only Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul and LeBron James. He is also sixth in assists per 48 minutes.[2] Lowry’s career average of 7.5 assists per game is the highest of any undrafted player in NBA history.[3]
Playoffs
In the playoffs, Lowry averaged 16.2 points, 7.6 assists and 5.6 rebounds per game. He helped the Raptors to their first ever NBA Finals appearance, where they lost in six games to the Golden State Warriors.
