Generally, when a basket is converted, a lot of attention is giving to the scorer. People tend to overlook the person who passed the ball and assisted that player. The ability to pass the ball accurately is a difficult art to master.
Here’s our ranking of the top 5 passers from this NBA season, from 5-1.
5. LeBron James – Los Angeles Lakers
Career Assists Per Game: 7.4 APG
There is virtually very little to no stat column which doesn’t feature the name, LeBron James. Last season, LeBron James led the whole league averaging 10.2 assists per game. He had a total of 684 assists in the whole of the 2019-2020 season. Since the addition of Anthony Davis in the Lakers’ squad, LeBron has been getting more assists than ever. Davis had accounted for over 27% (more than 180) of LeBron’s assists, last season. In his 18th year too, LeBron continues to display his dominance.
4. Rajon Rondo – Atlanta Hawks
Career Assists Per Game: 8.3 APG
Rajon Rondo is a floor general. He seems to be a player-coach, not only when he is on the court, but also when he is off the court. There have been a few instances in his career, where he was averaging more assists per game than he was averaging points per game. The pass-first point guard now comes off the bench for the Hawks and will give his passing knowledge to the young and sensational point guard, Trae Young. Rondo averaged 5 assists per game last season on a stacked Lakers team, which was the second-lowest in his career (3.8 APG in his rookie season). He counties to keep fans in awe as he shows his amazing display of sharing the ball.
3. Russell Westbrook – Washington Wizards
Career Assists Per Game: 8.33 APG
Russell Westbrook has been one of the most explosive point guards in the league. He has averaged a triple-double for 3 seasons. Last season, for the Rockets, he averaged 7 assists per game which is considered to be among the lower ones in his career. He is currently averaging 11.8 assists per game, which if he keeps it up, could go on to be the best of his 13 season career.
2. John Wall – Houston Rockets
Career Assists Per Game: 9.2 APG
John Wall has lately been facing an awful load of injuries. But throughout his career, he has had high assists per game. With James Harden and DeMarcus Cousins on his team now, he would most likely see a spike in his assists per game. Wall managed to have 831 assists in the 2016-2017 season, which is his best season in terms of assists till now.
1. Chris Paul – Phoenix Suns
Career Assists Per Game: 9.5 APG
There is absolutely no doubt that this veteran tops this list. Chris Paul has always been a pass-first point guard. He displayed his passing skills right from his rookie season when he averaged 7.8 assists in his first season itself. This year he has joined the young team of Phoenix. He continues to be a mentor figure for young players like Devin Booker and De’Andre Ayton. He is 7th on NBA’s all-time Assists leaders with a whopping 9,711 and counting assists in his 16 NBA seasons. His abilities tend to find the open man and he does the right thing by passing the ball to the right place and the right time. Chris Paul continues to play with the pass-first mentality, thus making him a loved player throughout the league.
Other than these fantastic passers, some players like Ricky Rubio, Stephen Curry, Lonzo Ball, James Harden and Damian Lillard do deserve a mention on this list.
