5 NBA players with the most assists in the 21st century
In the NBA, the task of making the assist has always been something that lies in the hands of the point guard. Running a play and watching it culminate as the last pass goes into the hands of a teammate who will score has traditionally been the point guard's role.
The assist, as a statistic in the NBA, measures the ability of the player to facilitate the offense and get the team involved on the offensive end. With great players like Magic Johnson and Larry Bird revolutionizing the aspect of passing in the NBA, the nature of who makes the assists in the game isn't just the role of a point guard anymore.
With the turn of the century seeing John Stockton as the all-time assists leader in the NBA, let's take a look at the top five NBA players with the most assists in the 21st century.
Note: To populate this list, we have only considered the regular season numbers, starting with the 2000-01 campaign.
#5 Russell Westbrook - 8,061 assists
Drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2008 NBA Draft, Russell Westbrook is one of the most explosive and dynamic offensive forces in the game. A tremendous athlete who plays with ferocious intensity, Russell Westbrook's development also saw him become a walking triple-double machine.
Having averaged triple-doubles over the season multiple times, Westbrook's ability to lead a one-man fastbreak only to drop a nifty pass to a teammate makes him an unpredictable player to defend.
Carrying rebounding and scoring duties on his shoulder routinely, Russell Westbrook's skill in finding his teammates for open looks is beyond doubt as he enters at number five on this list.
#4 Jason Kidd - 8,243 assists
Jason Kidd has been referred to by Rick Carlisle, his coach on the Dallas Mavericks, as an offensive savant. With one of the greatest basketball minds to ever play in the game, Jason Kidd's ability to find teammates on the break was impeccable.
Kidd was a master of using spin on his passes, routinely letting the ball turn just enough to comfortably land in the hands of his teammates. Efficient at using screens and no-look passes down the middle to cut big men, Kidd was a virtuoso with the ball in his hands. He led the New Jersey Nets to consecutive NBA Finals alongside Kenyon Martin and Vince Carter.
With his keen sense for angles and ability to hit the open man, Jason Kidd lands at number four on this list.