List of NBA career assists leaders

This article provides two lists:

A list of National Basketball Association players by total career regular season assists recorded

Progressive assist leaders list

Assist leaders

This is a list of National Basketball Association players by total career regular season assists recorded.

Statistics accurate as of December 19, 2024.^[1]

^	Active NBA player
*	Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
†	Not yet eligible for Hall of Fame consideration^[a]

John Stockton has the most assists in NBA history, and he is the only player to reach 15,000 assists. Stockton is also the all-time leader in steals.

Chris Paul has the second-most assists in NBA history and has the most assists among active NBA players.

Jason Kidd has the third-most assists and the second-most steals in NBA history, having led the NBA in assists during five separate seasons.

In addition to having the fourth-most assists in NBA history, LeBron James is also the all-time leading scorer in NBA history. No other player is in the top ten for both categories.

Steve Nash has the fifth-most assists in NBA history, and he is the only player in NBA history to achieve the 50–40–90 club four times.

Rank	Player	Pos	Team(s) played for (years)^[b]	Total assists	Games played	Assists per game average^[c]
1	John Stockton*	PG	Utah Jazz (1984–2003)	15,806	1,504	10.5
2	Chris Paul^	PG	New Orleans Hornets (2005–2011) Los Angeles Clippers (2011–2017) Houston Rockets (2017–2019) Oklahoma City Thunder (2019–2020) Phoenix Suns (2020–2023) Golden State Warriors (2023–2024) San Antonio Spurs (2024–present)	12,120	1,299	9.3
3	Jason Kidd*	PG	Dallas Mavericks (1994–1996, 2008–2012) Phoenix Suns (1996–2001) New Jersey Nets (2001–2008) New York Knicks (2012–2013)	12,091	1,391	8.7
4	LeBron James^	SF	Cleveland Cavaliers (2003–2010, 2014–2018) Miami Heat (2010–2014) Los Angeles Lakers (2018–present)	11,234	1,517	7.4
5	Steve Nash*	PG	Phoenix Suns (1996–1998, 2004–2012) Dallas Mavericks (1998–2004) Los Angeles Lakers (2012–2015)	10,335	1,217	8.5
6	Mark Jackson	PG	New York Knicks (1987–1992, 2001–2002) Los Angeles Clippers (1992–1994) Indiana Pacers (1994–1996, 1997–2000) Denver Nuggets (1996–1997) Toronto Raptors (2000–2001) Utah Jazz (2002–2003) Houston Rockets (2003–2004)	10,334	1,296	8.0
7	Magic Johnson*	PG	Los Angeles Lakers (1979–1991, 1996)	10,141	906	11.2
8	Oscar Robertson*	PG	Cincinnati Royals (1960–1970) Milwaukee Bucks (1970–1974)	9,887	1,040	9.5
9	Russell Westbrook^	PG	Oklahoma City Thunder (2008–2019) Houston Rockets (2019–2020) Washington Wizards (2020–2021) Los Angeles Lakers (2021–2023) Los Angeles Clippers (2023–2024) Denver Nuggets (2024–present)	9,630	1,187	8.1
10	Isiah Thomas*	PG	Detroit Pistons (1981–1994)	9,061	979	9.3
11	Gary Payton*	PG	Seattle SuperSonics (1990–2003) Milwaukee Bucks (2003) Los Angeles Lakers (2003–2004) Boston Celtics (2004–2005) Miami Heat (2005–2007)	8,966	1,335	6.7
12	Andre Miller	PG	Cleveland Cavaliers (1999–2002) Los Angeles Clippers (2002–2003) Denver Nuggets (2003–2006, 2011–2014) Philadelphia 76ers (2006–2009) Portland Trail Blazers (2009–2011) Washington Wizards (2014–2015) Sacramento Kings (2015) Minnesota Timberwolves (2015–2016) San Antonio Spurs (2016)	8,524	1,304	6.5
13	Rod Strickland	PG	New York Knicks (1988–1990) San Antonio Spurs (1990–1992) Portland Trail Blazers (1992–1996, 2001) Washington Bullets/Wizards (1996–2001) Miami Heat (2001–2002) Minnesota Timberwolves (2002–2003) Orlando Magic (2003–2004) Toronto Raptors (2004) Houston Rockets (2005)	7,987	1,094	7.3
14	James Harden^	SG/PG	Oklahoma City Thunder (2009–2012) Houston Rockets (2012–2021) Brooklyn Nets (2021–2022) Philadelphia 76ers (2022–2023) Los Angeles Clippers (2023–present)	7,853	1,099	7.1
15	Rajon Rondo^†	PG	Boston Celtics (2006–2014) Dallas Mavericks (2014–2015) Sacramento Kings (2015–2016) Chicago Bulls (2016–2017) New Orleans Pelicans (2017–2018) Los Angeles Lakers (2018–2020, 2021–2022) Atlanta Hawks (2020–2021) Los Angeles Clippers (2021) Cleveland Cavaliers (2022)	7,584	957	7.9
16	Maurice Cheeks*	PG	Philadelphia 76ers (1978–1989) San Antonio Spurs (1989–1990) New York Knicks (1990–1991) Atlanta Hawks (1991–1992) New Jersey Nets (1993)	7,392	1,101	6.7
17	Lenny Wilkens*	PG	St. Louis Hawks (1960–1968) Seattle SuperSonics (1968–1972) Cleveland Cavaliers (1972–1974) Portland Trail Blazers (1974–1975)	7,211	1,077	6.7
18	Terry Porter	PG	Portland Trail Blazers (1985–1995) Minnesota Timberwolves (1995–1998) Miami Heat (1999) San Antonio Spurs (1999–2002)	7,160	1,274	5.6
19	Tim Hardaway*	PG	Golden State Warriors (1989–1996) Miami Heat (1996–2001) Dallas Mavericks (2001–2002) Denver Nuggets (2002) Indiana Pacers (2003)	7,095	867	8.2
20	Kyle Lowry^	PG	Memphis Grizzlies (2006–2009) Houston Rockets (2009–2012) Toronto Raptors (2012–2021) Miami Heat (2021–2024) Philadelphia 76ers (2024–present)	7,051	1,155	6.1
21	Tony Parker*	PG	San Antonio Spurs (2001–2018) Charlotte Hornets (2018–2019)	7,036	1,254	5.6
22	Bob Cousy*	PG	Boston Celtics (1950–1963) Cincinnati Royals (1969–1970)	6,955	924	7.5
23	Guy Rodgers*	PG	Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors (1958–1966) Chicago Bulls (1966–1967) Cincinnati Royals (1967–1968) Milwaukee Bucks (1968–1970)	6,917	892	7.8
24	Deron Williams	PG	Utah Jazz (2005–2011) New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets (2011–2015) Dallas Mavericks (2015–2017) Cleveland Cavaliers (2017)	6,819	845	8.1
25	Muggsy Bogues	PG	Washington Bullets (1987–1988) Charlotte Hornets (1988–1997) Golden State Warriors (1997–1999) Toronto Raptors (1999–2001)	6,726	889	7.6
26	Kevin Johnson	PG	Cleveland Cavaliers (1987–1988) Phoenix Suns (1988–1998, 2000)	6,711	735	9.1
27	Derek Harper	PG	Dallas Mavericks (1983–1994, 1996–1997) New York Knicks (1994–1996) Orlando Magic (1997–1998) Los Angeles Lakers (1999)	6,577	1,199	5.5
28	Nate Archibald*	PG	Cincinnati Royals/Kansas City(-Omaha) Kings (1970–1976) New York Nets (1976–1977) Boston Celtics (1978–1983) Milwaukee Bucks (1983–1984)	6,476	876	7.4
29	Stephon Marbury	PG	Minnesota Timberwolves (1996–1999) New Jersey Nets (1999–2001) Phoenix Suns (2001–2004) New York Knicks (2004–2009) Boston Celtics (2009)	6,471	846	7.6
30	John Lucas II	PG	Houston Rockets (1976–1978, 1984–1986, 1989–1990) Golden State Warriors (1978–1981) Washington Bullets (1981–1983) San Antonio Spurs (1983–1984) Milwaukee Bucks (1986–1988) Seattle SuperSonics (1988–1989)	6,454	928	7.0
31	Reggie Theus	SG/PG	Chicago Bulls (1978–1984) Kansas City/Sacramento Kings (1984–1988) Atlanta Hawks (1988–1989) Orlando Magic (1989–1990) New Jersey Nets (1990–1991)	6,453	1,026	6.3
32	Mike Conley^	PG	Memphis Grizzlies (2007–2019) Utah Jazz (2019–2023) Minnesota Timberwolves (2023–present)	6,407	1,123	5.7
33	Norm Nixon	PG	Los Angeles Lakers (1977–1983) San Diego/Los Angeles Clippers (1983–1989)	6,386	768	8.3
34	Kobe Bryant*	SG	Los Angeles Lakers (1996–2016)	6,306	1,346	4.7
35	Jrue Holiday^	PG	Philadelphia 76ers (2009–2013) New Orleans Pelicans (2013–2020) Milwaukee Bucks (2020–2023) Boston Celtics (2023–present)	6,296	999	6.3
36	Stephen Curry^	PG	Golden State Warriors (2009–present)	6,253	977	6.4
37	Jerry West*	PG	Los Angeles Lakers (1960–1974)	6,238	932	6.7
38	Scottie Pippen*	SF	Chicago Bulls (1987–1998, 2003–2004) Houston Rockets (1999) Portland Trail Blazers (1999–2003)	6,135	1,178	5.2
39	Clyde Drexler*	SG	Portland Trail Blazers (1983–1995) Houston Rockets (1995–1998)	6,125	1,086	5.6
40	John Havlicek*	SF/SG	Boston Celtics (1962–1978)	6,114	1,270	4.8
41	Baron Davis	PG	Charlotte Hornets (1999–2002) New Orleans Hornets (2002–2005) Golden State Warriors (2005–2008) Los Angeles Clippers (2008–2011) Cleveland Cavaliers (2011) New York Knicks (2011–2012)	6,025	835	7.2
42	Mookie Blaylock	PG	New Jersey Nets (1989–1992) Atlanta Hawks (1992–1999) Golden State Warriors (1999–2002)	5,972	889	6.7
43	Sam Cassell	PG	Houston Rockets (1993–1996) Phoenix Suns (1996) Dallas Mavericks (1996–1997) New Jersey Nets (1997–1999) Milwaukee Bucks (1999–2003) Minnesota Timberwolves (2003–2005) Los Angeles Clippers (2005–2008) Boston Celtics (2008–2009)	5,939	993	6.0
44	Avery Johnson	PG	Seattle SuperSonics (1988–1990) Denver Nuggets (1990, 2001–2002) San Antonio Spurs (1991, 1992–1993, 1994–2001) Houston Rockets (1992) Golden State Warriors (1993–1994, 2003–2004) Dallas Mavericks (2002–2003)	5,846	1,054	5.5
45	Damian Lillard^	PG	Portland Trail Blazers (2012–2023) Milwaukee Bucks (2023–present)	5,825	864	6.7
46	Nick Van Exel	PG/SG	Los Angeles Lakers (1993–1998) Denver Nuggets (1998–2002) Dallas Mavericks (2002–2003) Golden State Warriors (2003–2004) Portland Trail Blazers (2004–2005) San Antonio Spurs (2005–2006)	5,777	880	6.6
47	John Wall^†	PG	Washington Wizards (2010–2020) Houston Rockets (2020–2022) Los Angeles Clippers (2022–2023)	5,735	647	8.9
48	Dwyane Wade*	SG	Miami Heat (2003–2016, 2018–2019) Chicago Bulls (2016–2017) Cleveland Cavaliers (2017–2018)	5,701	1,054	5.4
49	Larry Bird*	SF/PF	Boston Celtics (1979–1992)	5,695	897	6.3
50	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*	C	Milwaukee Bucks (1969–1975) Los Angeles Lakers (1975–1989)	5,660	1,560	3.6

Progressive list of assists leaders

This is a progressive list of assists leaders showing how the record increased through the years.^[2]

Statistics accurate as of December 19, 2024.

^	Active NBA player
*	Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
†	Not yet eligible for Hall of Fame consideration^[a]

Team abbreviations
ATL	Atlanta Hawks	DEN	Denver Nuggets	LAL	Los Angeles Lakers	PHW	Philadelphia Warriors	SEA	Seattle SuperSonics
BOS	Boston Celtics	DET	Detroit Pistons	MIA	Miami Heat	PHX	Phoenix Suns	SFW	San Francisco Warriors
BUF	Buffalo Braves	FTW	Fort Wayne Pistons	MIL	Milwaukee Bucks	POR	Portland Trail Blazers	TOR	Toronto Raptors
CHI	Chicago Bulls	GSW	Golden State Warriors	NJN	New Jersey Nets	PRO	Providence Steamrollers	UTA	Utah Jazz
CHS	Chicago Stags	HOU	Houston Rockets	NOH	New Orleans Hornets	ROC	Rochester Royals	WAS	Washington Wizards
CIN	Cincinnati Royals	IND	Indiana Pacers	NYK	New York Knicks	SAC	Sacramento Kings	WSB	Washington Bullets
CLE	Cleveland Cavaliers	KCO	Kansas City–Omaha Kings	OKC	Oklahoma City Thunder	SAS	San Antonio Spurs
DAL	Dallas Mavericks	LAC	Los Angeles Clippers	PHI	Philadelphia 76ers	SDC	San Diego Clippers

John Stockton has the most assists in NBA history. He is the first to surpass 10,000 career assists and the only player to reach 15,000.

Magic Johnson held the career assists record from 1991 to 1995.

Oscar Robertson held the record from 1969 to 1991.

Bob Cousy held the record from 1957 to 1969 and is the first player to eclipse 5,000 career assists.

Ernie Calverley held the record from the league's inaugural season to 1949.

Assists leaders and records at the end of every season
Season	Year-by-year leader	AST	Active player leader	AST	Career record	AST	Single-season record	AST	Season
1946–47	Ernie Calverley000PRO	202	Ernie Calverley000PRO	202	Ernie Calverley000PRO	202	Ernie Calverley000PRO	202	1946–47
1947–48	Howie Dallmar000PHW	120		321		321	Ernie Calverley000PRO	202	1947–48
1948–49	Bob Davies*000ROC	321		572		572	Bob Davies*000ROC	321	1948–49
1949–50	Dick McGuire*000NYK	386	Andy Phillip* 000CHS 1949–50 000PHW 1950–52 000FTW 1952–56 000BOS 1956–57	770	Andy Phillip* 000CHS 1949–50 000PHW 1950–52 000FTW 1952–56 000BOS 1956–57	770	Dick McGuire*000NYK	386	1949–50
1950–51	Andy Phillip*000PHW	414		1,184		1,184	Andy Phillip*000PHW	414	1950–51
1951–52	Andy Phillip*000PHW	539		1,723		1,723	Andy Phillip*000PHW	539	1951–52
1952–53	Bob Cousy*000BOS	547		2,120		2,120	Bob Cousy*000BOS	547	1952–53
1953–54		518		2,569		2,569		547	1953–54
1954–55		557		3,060		3,060		557	1954–55
1955–56		642		3,470		3,470		642	1955–56
1956–57		478		3,638		3,638			1956–57
1957–58		463	Bob Cousy*000BOS	3,987	Bob Cousy*000BOS	3,987			1957–58
1958–59		557		4,544		4,544			1958–59
1959–60		715		5,259		5,259		715	1959–60
1960–61	Oscar Robertson*000CIN	690		5,846		5,846		715	1960–61
1961–62	Oscar Robertson*000CIN	899		6,430		6,430	Oscar Robertson*000CIN	899	1961–62
1962–63	Guy Rodgers*000SFW	825		6,945		6,945			1962–63
1963–64	Oscar Robertson*000CIN	868	Guy Rodgers*000SFW	3,444					1963–64
1964–65		861	Oscar Robertson* 000CIN 1964–70 000MIL 1970–74	4,076					1964–65
1965–66		847		4,923					1965–66
1966–67	Guy Rodgers*000CHI	908		5,768			Guy Rodgers*000CHI	908	1966–67
1967–68	Wilt Chamberlain*000PHI	702		6,401					1967–68
1968–69	Oscar Robertson*000CIN	772		7,173	Oscar Robertson* 000CIN 1968–70 000MIL 1970–74	7,173			1968–69
1969–70	Lenny Wilkens*000SEA	683		7,731		7,731			1969–70
1970–71	Norm Van Lier000CIN	832		8,399		8,399			1970–71
1971–72	Lenny Wilkens*000SEA	766		8,890		8,890			1971–72
1972–73	Nate Archibald*000KCO	910		9,441		9,441	Nate Archibald*000KCO	910	1972–73
1973–74	Ernie DiGregorio000BUF	663		9,887		9,887			1973–74
1974–75	Kevin Porter000WSB	650	Lenny Wilkens*000POR	7,211					1974–75
1975–76	Slick Watts000SEA	661	John Havlicek*000BOS	5,386					1975–76
1976–77	Don Buse000IND	685		5,786					1976–77
1977–78	Kevin Porter 0DET & NJN 1977–78 0DET 1978–79	837		6,114					1977–78
1978–79	Kevin Porter 0DET & NJN 1977–78 0DET 1978–79	1,099	Norm Van Lier000MIL	5,217			Kevin Porter000DET	1,099	1978–79
1979–80	Micheal Ray Richardson000NYK	832	Walt Frazier*000CLE	5,040					1979–80
1980–81	Kevin Porter000WSB	734	Nate Archibald* 000BOS 1980–83 000MIL 1983–84	5,366					1980–81
1981–82	Johnny Moore000SAS	762		5,907					1981–82
1982–83	Magic Johnson*000LAL	829		6,316					1982–83
1983–84	Isiah Thomas*00DET Norm Nixon000SDC	914		6,476					1983–84
1984–85	Isiah Thomas*000DET	1,123	Norm Nixon000LAC	5,471			Isiah Thomas*000DET	1,123	1984–85
1985–86	Magic Johnson*000LAL	907	Norm Nixon000LAC	6,047					1985–86
1986–87	Magic Johnson*000LAL	977	Magic Johnson*000LAL	6,179					1986–87
1987–88	John Stockton*000UTA	1,128		7,037			John Stockton*000UTA	1,128	1987–88
1988–89		1,118		8,025				1,128	1988–89
1989–90		1,134		8,932				1,134	1989–90
1990–91		1,164		9,921	Magic Johnson*000LAL	9,921		1,164	1990–91
1991–92		1,126	Isiah Thomas*000DET	7,991					1991–92
1992–93		987	Isiah Thomas*000DET	8,662					1992–93
1993–94		1,031	John Stockton*000UTA	9,383					1993–94
1994–95		1,011		10,394	John Stockton*000UTA	10,394			1994–95
1995–96		916		11,310		11,310			1995–96
1996–97	Mark Jackson000DEN & IND	935		12,170		12,170			1996–97
1997–98	Rod Strickland000WAS	801		12,713		12,713			1997–98
1998–99	Jason Kidd*000PHX	539		13,087		13,087			1998–99
1999–00	Gary Payton*000SEA	732		13,790		13,790			1999–00
2000–01	Jason Kidd*000PHX	753		14,503		14,503			2000–01
2001–02	Andre Miller000CLE	882		15,177		15,177			2001–02
2002–03	Jason Kidd*000NJN	711		15,806		15,806			2002–03
2003–04	Stephon Marbury000PHX	719	Mark Jackson000HOU	10,334					2003–04
2004–05	Steve Nash*000PHX	861	Gary Payton* 000BOS 2004–05 000MIA 2005–07	8,508					2004–05
2005–06		826		8,765					2005–06
2006–07		884		8,966					2006–07
2007–08	Chris Paul^000NOH	925	Jason Kidd* 000NJN 2007–08 000DAL 2008–12 000NYK 2012–13	9,497					2007–08
2008–09	Chris Paul^000NOH	861		10,199					2008–09
2009–10	Steve Nash*000PHX	892		10,923					2009–10
2010–11		855		11,578					2010–11
2011–12		664		11,842					2011–12
2012–13	Greivis Vásquez000NOH	704		12,091					2012–13
2013–14	John Wall^†000WAS	721	Steve Nash*000LAL	10,335					2013–14
2014–15	Chris Paul^000LAC	838	Andre Miller 000SAC 2014–15 000MIN 2015–16 000SAS 2016	8,437					2014–15
2015–16	Rajon Rondo^†000SAC	839	Andre Miller 000SAC 2014–15 000MIN 2015–16 000SAS 2016	8,524					2015–16
2016–17	James Harden^000HOU	907	Chris Paul^ 000LAC 2016–17 000HOU 2017–19 000OKC 2019–20 000PHX 2020–23 000GSW 2023–24 000SAS 2024–	8,251					2016–17
2017–18	Russell Westbrook^000OKC	820		8,708					2017–18
2018–19	Russell Westbrook^000OKC	784		9,181					2018–19
2019–20	LeBron James^000LAL	684		9,653					2019–20
2020–21	Russell Westbrook^000WAS	763		10,275					2020–21
2021–22	Trae Young^000ATL	737		10,977					2021–22
2022–23	Trae Young^000ATL	741		11,501					2022–23
2023–24	Tyrese Haliburton^000IND	752		11,894					2023–24
2024–25	Trae Young^000ATL	330		12,120					2024–25
Season	Year-by-year leader	AST	Active player leader	AST	Career record	AST	Single-season record	AST	Season

Notes

^ ^a ^b A player is not eligible for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame until he has been fully retired for three calendar years.
^ American Basketball Association (ABA) teams other than those admitted into the NBA in 1976 are not included; each year is linked to an article about that particular NBA season.
^ Average is rounded to the nearest tenth.

References

^ "NBA & ABA Career Leaders and Records for Assists". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
^ "NBA Progressive Leaders and Records for Assists". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 6, 2021.

External links

[elig-2] A player is not eligible for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame until he has been fully retired for three calendar years.

[3] American Basketball Association (ABA) teams other than those admitted into the NBA in 1976 are not included; each year is linked to an article about that particular NBA season.

[4] Average is rounded to the nearest tenth.

[1] "NBA & ABA Career Leaders and Records for Assists". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 21, 2022.

[5] "NBA Progressive Leaders and Records for Assists". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 6, 2021.

[1]

[a]

[b]

[c]

[2]