LeBron James is one of the most gifted passers of his generation. Despite being a 6’8 scoring machine who can easily make his way to the basket, James is a team-first player, and always looks for the best play possible, and will gladly pass the ball in order to complete that play.
James has been playing in the NBA for 19 years now. And in that incredibly long stint, he has amassed 9738 assists. James’ passing numbers are absolutely ridiculous. This is why many consider him one of the best point guards of all time, despite him being a small forward.
While most people compare LeBron James to Michael Jordan in terms of greatness, LeBron’s style of play is actually more similar to Magic Johnson. Both players were incredibly large, athletic, and had elite court vision. Many feel that James is the modern-day version of Magic Johnson.
Because of LeBron’s team-first mentality, a lot of players have benefitted, getting passes to score the basketball. Reddit user u/Beepbop tabulated James’ assists to his different teammates, to see which player benefitted the most from playing with LeBron.
Unsurprisingly, Zydrunas Ilgauskas has been the recipient of a LeBron James assist more than any other player with 785. Kevin Love, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, and Drew Gooden round out the top 5. From his stint with the Lakers, Kyle Kuzma and Anthony Davis have been the biggest beneficiaries.
LeBron James Assists To Teammates
Rank – Player – Assists
1. Zydrunas Ilgauskas – 785
2. Kevin Love – 502
3. Chris Bosh – 481
4. Dwyane Wade – 428
5. Drew Gooden – 356
6. Anderson Varejao – 354
7. J.R. Smith – 288
8. Kyle Kuzma – 248
9. Anthony Davis – 246
10. Mo Williams – 231
11. Mario Chalmers – 229
12. Kyrie Irving – 198
13. Tristan Thompson – 191
14. Daniel Gibson – 178
15. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope – 171
16. Donyell Marshall – 170
17. JaVale McGee – 160
18. Damon Jones – 157
19. Kyle Korver – 144
20. Channing Frye – 143
21. Ray Allen – 139
22. Jeff McInnis – 134
23. Eric Snow – 128
24. Sasha Pavlovic – 127
25. Larry Hughes – 124
26. Carlos Boozer – 123
27. Delonte West – 117
28. Shane Battier – 114
29. J.J. Hickson – 112
30. Ira Newble – 110
31. Timofey Mozgov – 109
32. Iman Shumpert – 100
33. Anthony Parker – 94
34. Udonis Haslem – 90
35. James Jones – 86
36. Danny Green – 79
36. Jeff Green – 79
36. Richard Jefferson – 79
39. Norris Cole – 75
40. Avery Bradley – 72
41. Mike Miller – 70
42. Matthew Dellavedova – 67
43. Jae Crowder – 62
44. Shaquille O’Neal – 59
45. Alex Caruso – 55
46. Wally Szczerbiak – 52
47. Dwight Howard – 47
47. Montrezl Harrell – 47
49. Brandon Ingram – 43
50. Antawn Jamison – 41
50. Robert Traylor – 41
52. Chris Andersen – 39
52. Joel Anthony – 39
54. Devin Brown – 36
54. Jamario Moon – 36
56. Ricky Davis – 35
57. Eddie House – 34
57. George Hill – 34
57. Joe Smith – 34
57. Lonzo Ball – 34
57. Rashard Lewis – 34
62. Shawn Marion – 33
63. Josh Hart – 30
63. Lucious Harris – 30
65. Markieff Morris – 29
66. Carlos Arroyo – 28
66. Jawad Williams – 28
66. Larry Nance Jr. – 28
66. Rodney Hood – 28
70. Cedi Osman – 27
70. Darius Miles – 27
72. Jordan Clarkson – 26
72. Michael Beasley – 26
74. Dion Waiters – 25
75. Eric Williams – 24
75. Talen Horton-Tucker – 24
77. Jose Calderon – 23
77. Ronald “Flip” Murray – 23
79. Dennis Schroder – 22
79. Wesley Matthews – 22
81. Marc Gasol – 21
81. Mike Bibby – 21
81. Reggie Bullock – 21
84. Kedrick Brown – 20
84. Rajon Rondo – 20
86. Ben Wallace – 19
87. Derrick Williams – 18
88. Troy Daniels – 17
89. Tony Battie – 14
90. Carmelo Anthony – 13
90. Isaiah Thomas – 13
90. Juwan Howard – 13
93. Derrick Rose – 12
93. Erick Dampier – 12
93. Ivica Zubac – 12
93. J.R. Bremer – 12
93. Lance Stephenson – 12
93. Moritz Wagner – 12
93. Quinn Cook – 12
100. Jared Dudley – 11
101. Alan Henderson – 10
101. Jared Cunningham – 10
101. Jason Kapono – 10
101. Jordan McRae – 10
101. Kevin Ollie – 10
106. DeAndre Liggins – 9
106. DeSagana Diop – 9
106. Mike Dunleavy – 9
109. Chris Mihm – 8
109. Deron Williams – 8
109. Johnathan Williams – 8
112. Ante Zizic – 7
112. Lee Nailon – 7
112. Tarence Kinsey – 7
112. Tyson Chandler – 7
116. Toney Douglas – 6
117. Andre Drummond – 5
117. Dajuan Wagner – 5
117. Greg Oden – 5
117. Kay Felder – 5
117. Luke Jackson – 5
117. Terrel Harris – 5
123. Austin Reaves – 4
123. Damian Jones – 4
123. Joe Harris – 4
123. Roger Mason – 4
123. Shannon Brown – 4
123. Stephen Graham – 4
129. Dexter Pittman – 3
120. Dwayne Jones – 3
129. Jiri Welsch – 3
129. Malik Monk – 3
129. Mike Muscala – 3
129. Mike Wilks – 3
129. Ronny Turiaf – 3
129. Russell Westbrook – 3
129. Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk – 3
138. Ben McLemore – 2
138. DeAndre Jordan – 2
138. John Holland – 2
138. Kent Bazemore – 2
138. Lorenzen Wright – 2
138. Mateen Cleaves – 2
138. Scot Pollard – 2
138. Will Cherry – 2
146. Billy Thomas – 1
146. Cedric Simmons – 1
146. Darnell Jackson – 1
146. David Wesley – 1
146. Eddy Curry – 1
146. Jamaal Magloire – 1
146 Josh Harrellson – 1
146. Justin Hamilton – 1
When it comes to the most assists a single player received from James in a season, Anthony Davis had the most in 2019-20 with 184. Kevin Love actually made this list 3 times, during his 4-year stint playing alongside LeBron James in Cleveland.
Most Assists By LeBron James To A Player In A Single Season:
Player – Season – Assists
1. Anthony Davis: 2019-20 – 184
2. Chris Bosh: 2013-14 – 141
3. Kevin Love: 2017-18 – 141
4. Drew Gooden: 2004-05 – 134
5. Chris Bosh: 2012-13 – 132
6. Mo Williams: 2008-09 – 129
7. Dwyane Wade: 2010-11 – 127
8. Kevin Love: 2015-16 – 126
9. Kevin Love: 2016-17 – 125
10. Carlos Boozer: 2003-04 – 123
When it comes to James’ assists for each draft class, his own 2003 class has benefitted the most. This isn’t surprising, given how James has played with his closest friends from this draft class for years. In fact, he and Carmelo Anthony are the only two players from this class remaining, and they are playing together right now.
LeBron James Assists To A Single Draft Class
Rank – Draft Class – Assists
1. 2003 – 1,520
2. 2008 – 1,081
3. 1996 – 1,072
4. 2004 – 811
5. 2011 – 634
6. 2002 – 523
7. 2012 – 349
8. 2017 – 315
9. 1998 – 296
10. 2001 – 230
11. 2013 – 219
12 .2006 – 203
13. 1995 – 196
14. 1994 – 183
15. 2005 – 154
16. 2000 – 142
17. 2007 – 116
18. 1997 – 110
19. 2015 – 102
20. 1999 – 92
21. 2010 – 87
22. 2009 – 85
23. 2016 – 71
24. 2014 – 68
25. 1992 – 59
26. 1993 – 30
27. 2019 – 24
28. 2018 – 15
N/A. Undrafted Players – 951
These numbers show just how beneficial it was for players, teams, and even draft classes to play with LeBron James. James has been one of the best passers in the NBA each season that he has played in.
That passing ability will be crucial to the Lakers this season. But they will have to wait, as James is currently sidelined with an injury that has ruled him out for 1-2 months. Given that the Lakers’ championship hopes rely so heavily on LeBron James, he will have to work hard to get back and start dishing out dimes to his struggling teammates.
