Tonight let’s look at the NBA’s Fifty Greatest Players from another perspective – assists. Remember, this list was released by then NBA Commissioner David Stern in 1996, so none of today’s greats are on this list. Before we proceed, however, I want to review the NBA definition of an assist. Unlike hockey, which allows multiple assists per score, there can be one and only one assist for each basket scored in the NBA. According to NBA.com:
“An assist is a pass that directly leads to a basket. This can be a pass to the low post that leads to a direct score, a long pass for a layup, a fast break pass to a teammate for a layup, and/or a pass that results in an open perimeter shot for a teammate. In basketball, an assist is awarded only if, in the judgement of the statistician, the last player’s pass contributed directly to a made basket. An assist can be awarded for a basket scored after the ball has been dribbled if the player’s pass led to the field goal being made.”
Now if that definition doesn’t leave room for interpretation, I don’t know what does.
Some statistical comments on the list (my call sign is Stats, after all) follow. Remember, the left side of the table shows assists per game (APG) while the right side of the table shows career assists.
- Magic Johnson, John Stockton, Oscar Robertson, and Isiah Thomas dominate this list and reside significantly ahead of the rest of the field, both in APG and career assists. Stockton’s 15,806 career assists record is considered one of the most “unbreakable” records in sports.
- The top ranked forward on this list is Larry Legend at 6.3 APG, followed by Scottie Pippen (5.2 APG) and Rick Barry (5.1 APG).
- Wilt Chamberlain (4.4 APG) and Bill Russell (4.3 APG), two names we’ve seen before, are the two top ranked centers on this list.
APG AVERAGES (Descending) CAREER ASSISTS (Descending)
| # | Name | POS | APG | # | Name | POS | Assists | |
| 1 | Magic Johnson | G | 11.2 | 1 | John Stockton | G | 15,806 | |
| 2 | John Stockton | G | 10.5 | 2 | Magic Johnson | G | 10,141 | |
| 2 | Oscar Robertson | G | 9.5 | 2 | Oscar Robertson | G | 9,887 | |
| 2 | Isiah Thomas | G | 9.3 | 2 | Isiah Thomas | G | 9,061 | |
| 5 | Bob Cousy | G | 7.5 | 5 | Lenny Wilkens | G | 7,211 | |
| 6 | Nate Archibald | G | 7.4 | 6 | Bob Cousy | G | 6,955 | |
| 7 | Jerry West | G | 6.7 | 7 | Nate Archibald | G | 6,476 | |
| 8 | Lenny Wilkens | G | 6.7 | 8 | Jerry West | G | 6,238 | |
| 9 | Larry Bird | F | 6.3 | 9 | Scottie Pippen | F | 6,135 | |
| 10 | Walt Frazier | G | 6.1 | 10 | Clyde Drexler | G | 6,125 | |
| 11 | Dave Bing | G | 6.0 | 11 | John Havlicek | F/G | 6,114 | |
| 12 | Clyde Drexler | G | 5.6 | 12 | Larry Bird | F | 5,695 | |
| 13 | Pete Maravich | G | 5.4 | 13 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | C | 5,660 | |
| 14 | Michael Jordan | G | 5.3 | 14 | Michael Jordan | G | 5,633 | |
| 15 | Scottie Pippen | F | 5.2 | 15 | Dave Bing | G | 5,397 | |
| 16 | Rick Barry | F | 5.1 | 16 | Karl Malone | F | 5,248 | |
| 17 | John Havlicek | F/G | 4.8 | 17 | Walt Frazier | G | 5,040 | |
| 18 | Wilt Chamberlain | C | 4.4 | 18 | Wilt Chamberlain | C | 4,643 | |
| 19 | Bill Russell | C | 4.3 | 19 | Hal Greer | G | 4,540 | |
| 20 | Elgin Baylor | F | 4.3 | 20 | Charles Barkley | F | 4,215 | |
| 21 | Billy Cunningham | F | 4.0 | 21 | Bill Russell | C | 4,100 | |
| 22 | Hal Greer | G | 4.0 | 22 | Rick Barry | F | 4,017 | |
| 23 | Charles Barkley | F | 3.9 | 23 | Wes Unseld | C/F | 3,822 | |
| 24 | Earl Monroe | G | 3.9 | 24 | Elgin Baylor | F | 3,650 | |
| 25 | Julius Erving | F | 3.9 | 25 | Earl Monroe | G | 3,594 | |
| 26 | Wes Unseld | C/F | 3.9 | 26 | Pete Maravich | G | 3,563 | |
| 27 | Dave Cowens | C | 3.8 | 27 | Julius Erving | F | 3,224 | |
| 28 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | C | 3.6 | 28 | Dolph Schayes | F/C | 3,072 | |
| 29 | Karl Malone | F | 3.6 | 29 | Hakeem Olajuwon | C | 3,058 | |
| 30 | Bill Walton | C | 3.4 | 30 | Shaquille O’Neal | C | 3,026 | |
| 31 | Jerry Lucas | F/C | 3.3 | 31 | Dave Cowens | C | 2,910 | |
| 32 | Dolph Schayes | F/C | 3.1 | 32 | James Worthy | F | 2,791 | |
| 33 | Bill Sharman | G | 3.0 | 33 | Jerry Lucas | F/C | 2,732 | |
| 34 | Bob Pettit | F | 3.0 | 34 | Billy Cunningham | F | 2,625 | |
| 35 | James Worthy | F | 3.0 | 35 | Nate Thurmond | C | 2,575 | |
| 36 | Dave DeBusschere | F | 2.9 | 36 | Dave DeBusschere | F | 2,497 | |
| 37 | George Gervin | G | 2.8 | 37 | David Robinson | C | 2,441 | |
| 38 | George Mikan | C | 2.8 | 38 | Elvin Hayes | F/C | 2,398 | |
| 39 | Nate Thurmond | C | 2.7 | 39 | Bob Pettit | F | 2,369 | |
| 40 | David Robinson | C | 2.5 | 40 | Patrick Ewing | C | 2,215 | |
| 41 | Hakeem Olajuwon | C | 2.5 | 41 | George Gervin | G | 2,214 | |
| 42 | Sam Jones | G | 2.5 | 42 | Sam Jones | G | 2,209 | |
| 43 | Shaquille O’Neal | C | 2.5 | 43 | Robert Parish | C | 2,180 | |
| 44 | Paul Arizin | F | 2.3 | 44 | Bill Sharman | G | 2,101 | |
| 45 | Patrick Ewing | C | 1.9 | 45 | Moses Malone | C | 1,796 | |
| 46 | Elvin Hayes | F/C | 1.8 | 46 | Kevin McHale | F | 1,670 | |
| 47 | Willis Reed | C | 1.8 | 47 | Paul Arizin | F | 1,665 | |
| 31 | Kevin McHale | F | 1.7 | 31 | Bill Walton | C | 1,590 | |
| 49 | Moses Malone | C | 1.4 | 49 | George Mikan | C | 1,245 | |
| 50 | Robert Parish | C | 1.4 | 50 | Willis Reed | C | 1,186 |
BILL HARVEY, Call Sign “Stats”, is the Editor of Hoops Business. He is a former college basketball player, basketball referee, Army officer, and college instructor in technical writing with a public relations and journalism background. He is also the editor of the Net Set blog at http://thenetsetblog.com. BA degree from Xavier University and MA degree in Information Management.