NBA Top 10 All-Time Assists Leaders
Great ball-handlers are said to have "eyes at the back of their head". They will know every possible coordinate of their teammates' movement and will read the defense before anyone else on the floor can. Coaches trust them with the ball at clutch season-defining moments, knowing they will make the right play or the right pass at the right time. Their ability to anticipate the play even before it happened makes them stand out in the crowd of numerous ball handlers who can perform fancy wizardry with the ball but nothing of good use.
Playmakers dribble the ball down the floor, scanning the court for drive-in lanes, open spaces for uncontested shots, backdoor cuts for potential alley-oops, screens, pick and rolls and what not. The defence will collapse on them to stop the clear path layup while they find an open man on the 3-point line for a slick dime. The game of Basketball has been blessed to have not just elite scorers but also some gifted passers, who could run the game at their own pace and act as the backbone which holds the offense of their side intact.
Here we take a look at the best 10 all-time great passers the NBA has ever produced and how they affected the game during their time.
#10 Andre Miller
Miller was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers as the eighth overall pick in the 1999 NBA draft & went on to become a member of NBA All-Rookie first team. He played for 9 franchises during his stint in the NBA.
In the 2001-02 season, playing for the Cavaliers, Andre Miller was the NBA's Assists leader averaging 16.5 ppg and 10.9 assists per game and set a franchise record for total assists in a season(882). Also, he was the only NBA player to average 10+ points and 10+ assists in that very season.
Currently, he ranks 10th all-time on the NBA's career assists list with an amazing 8,524 dimes to his name.