For decades, the point guard has been seen as a Top 2 position on the court in terms of importance. The offense begins with the point guard and his ability to control the pace of play as well as lead his teammates into battle. One of the more important parts of a point guard’s job is to make sure that his teammates are taken care of as far as good looks at easy opportunities to score are concerned. Being a leading assist man means you are selfless and more concerned with winning than personal stats. These are the kind of players that we will be discussing today.
- 1950s – Bob Cousy – 4,544 Assists
- 1960s – Oscar Robertson – 7,173 Assists
- 1970s – Norm Van Lier – 5,217 Assists
- 1980s – Magic Johnson – 8,025 Assists
- 1990s – John Stockton – 9,146 Assists
- 2000s – Jason Kidd – 7,029 Assists
- 2010s – Russell Westbrook – 6,462 Assists
- 2020s – Trae Young – 2,244 Assists
- Next
- NBA’s Leading Scorer By Decade: Wilt Chamberlain Almost Scored 25K Points, Karl Malone Surprisingly Led The 90s
- NBA’s Leading Rebounder By Decade: Wilt Chamberlain Almost Got 20,000 Rebounds, No One Else Is Even Close To Him
- The NBA Players With The Most Rebounding Titles
- The Most Triple-Doubles In Every NBA Team’s History: Oscar Robertson Is The Ultimate Leader With 184
- Top 10 NBA Players Who Scored The Most Points Of All Time And Where They Rank In Assists All Time
Each of the 8 players you will hear about today ruled their respective decades with an iron fist and a sharp basketball IQ. These are the men who helped their teams more than any other point guards during their eras. The selfless play of these 8-decade leaders has gone down in the history books to be remembered forever. From the 50s to the present day, these point guard set up their teammates for success better than any other players to have touched the court. These are also the men who have won most of the NBA’s assists titles over the last 76 years. Let’s reveal who those players are.
To create the perfect list, this is how we measured each decade:
1950 to 1959
1960 to 1969
1970 to 1979
1980 to 1989
1990 to 1999
2000 to 2009
2010 to 2019
2020 to Present Day
It is time to take a look at the NBA leaders in total assists for each decade.
1950s – Bob Cousy – 4,544 Assists
2nd Place: Dick McGuire – 3,847 Assists
3rd Place: Andy Phillip – 3,366 Assists
It comes as no surprise that the man who revolutionized the point guard position kicks off our list for the 1950s. Bob Cousy was known as the Houdini of the Hardwood for his ahead-of-the-times passing ability and blazing speed he played with on the court. With rules prohibiting the way he was allowed to handle the ball, Cousy was still able to rack up the assists during his career and dazzle audiences every night he was on the court. With the Boston Celtics of the 50s and 60s, Cousy and Co. had a vice grip on the NBA, the likes of which have not been seen since by any one team.
Cousy made his debut with the Celtics in the 1950-51 season and was immediately seen as an All-Star. From 1953 thru 1959, Cousy won himself 7 assists titles in a row and then added an 8th in 1960. In each of those seasons, Cousy dished out over 450 assists and helped the Celtics win 2 titles during the decade in 1957 and 1959. Cousy would win 4 more championships with the Celtics, propelling them atop the NBA’s title pyramid, before retiring after the 1963 season.
1960s – Oscar Robertson – 7,173 Assists
2nd Place: Guy Rodgers – 6,443 Assists
3rd Place: Lenny Wilkens – 3,723 Assists
In the 1960s, only one man surpassed the 7,000 assists mark, and that man was Oscar Robertson. Oscar is a staple of the 1960s era as the first version of a true do-it-all point guard that the game had ever seen. After making his debut in 1960-61, Robertson would make the All-Star team every single year that he was active in the 1960s and took home the 1961 Rookie of the Year award as well as the 1964 MVP award. In 1962, just his 2nd season in the NBA, Robertson became the first man to ever average a triple-double for an entire season with 30.8 PPG, 12.5 RPG, and 11.4 APG.
In each of his first 2 seasons, Robertson would win the assists title in the NBA with 9.7 APG in 1961 and 11.4 APG in 1962. He would win 5 more assists titles in his career, which all came during the period of the 60s. During this time that Oscar ruled over the NBA as their best passer, he averaged 29.7 PPG, 8.7 RPG, and 10.5 APG. His career-high for assists in a game was 22, and he dished out over 650 assists in each of his first 7 seasons in the 60s. Oscar Robertson being on this list is a no-brainer, as the numbers are staggering from his time as a premier point guard in the NBA.
1970s – Norm Van Lier – 5,217 Assists
2nd Place: John Havlicek – 4,185 Assists
3rd Place: Walt Frazier – 4,092 Assists
No other man in the 1970s surpassed 5000 assists in the entire decade besides one. Norm Van Lier was known for the defensive effort he put out every night alongside Jerry Sloan with the Chicago Bulls. Van Lier was also a highly-skilled passer and distributor who made his debut for the Bulls in the 1969-70 season. He led the NBA in assists in his second season in the NBA with 10.1 APG, the only time he would average 10.0 or more APG in his career. Van Lier played with the Bulls for 9 of his 10 NBA seasons, finishing his career with the Bucks in 1978-79.
Van Lier was as consistent as they come with his distribution, averaging 6.0 APG or more per season in 8 of his 10 years in the league. Van Lier was a 3-time All-Star with Chicago and helped them reach the playoffs 6 times. With Van Lier in the Chicago lineup, it was guaranteed that he was going to give you somewhere over 500 assists, 100 steals, and near or above 1000 points every year. This makes him easily one of their 30 greatest players in franchise history. He doesn’t get enough credit for the passer he was, and hopefully, that changes from here.
1980s – Magic Johnson – 8,025 Assists
2nd Place: Isiah Thomas – 6,220 Assists
3rd Place: Maurice Cheeks – 5,781 Assists
Magic Johnson being the leader in the assists category for the 80s is about as obvious as the sky being blue. There was no other player in NBA history to make turn the game into a pure art form the way Magic did when he was running an offense. His no-look passes became his signature move with the Lakers during the 80s. He was the best in history at operating in the fast break, and at times it seemed that he had a set of eyes wrapped all the way around his head. Johnson’s ability as a passer led the Lakers to immediate success and 5 NBA championships during the 1980s.
During his career in the 1980s, Magic won 4 assists titles by way of back-to-back seasons in 1983 and 1984 as well as 1986 and 1987. For 7 seasons straight from 1983 thru 1989, Magic averaged at least 10.0 APG and had 5 seasons of at least 12.0 APG. Magic took home 3 MVP awards during the decade and 3 Finals MVP awards to boot. From 1983 thru 1991, Johnson recorded 9 straight seasons with at least 800 assists dished out. One of the greatest passers and playmakers in NBA history, Magic Johnson dominated the 80s and is the decade’s all-time assist leader.
1990s – John Stockton – 9,146 Assists
2nd Place: Mark Jackson – 6,437 Assists
3rd Place: Tim Hardaway – 5,925 Assists
Only 2 players in the 1990s dished out over 6,000 assists. However, John Stockton still dished out over 2,500 more assists than the man who sits in 2nd, Mark Jackson. John Stockton was a master playmaker during his days with the Jazz in the 80s and 90s. Many fans think that Stockton was simply just a product of Karl Malone’s ability to score the ball. It would do those fans wonders to get Thurl Bailey or Jeff Hornacek’s perspective on that as well.
The truth of the matter is that Stockton got everyone involved when he controlled the ball on the court. He won 9 straight assists titles from 1988 thru 1996 and averaged at least 11.0 APG in all 9 seasons. He wasn’t a scorer by any measure, posting just a career-high of 17.2 PPG in a season. Stockton was on the court to perfect the job of a point guard, which he did on both sides of the ball. He holds the Top 4 seasons in NBA history for total assists and recorded over 1000 assists in a season 7 times. Kevin Porter and Isiah Thomas are the only other players to ever do it once.
2000s – Jason Kidd – 7,029 Assists
2nd Place: Steve Nash – 6,886 Assists
3rd Place: Andre Miller – 6,020 Assists
The closest race for the most assists in a decade that we have encountered so far is from the 2000s. Two-time MVP award winner Steve Nash comes in just 143 assists behind our first-place player, Jason Kidd. Nash did most of his damage in the mid and late 2000s, while Kidd ruled the earlier years of the decade. Kidd let the New Jersey Nets to back-to-back Finals appearances on the heels of MVP-caliber seasons on both sides of the ball.
Kidd would win himself 4 assists titles during the 2000s, 2 with the Phoenix Suns and 2 with the aforementioned Nets. For the entire decade, Kidd averaged 14.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG, and 9.2 APG. Kidd was a member of 6 total All-NBA Teams in his career, as well as 9 All-Defensive Teams. He dished out at least 500 assists per season every year of the 2000s on his way to becoming one of the 10 best point guards in NBA history.
2010s – Russell Westbrook – 6,462 Assists
2nd Place: Chris Paul – 6,215 Assists
3rd Place: Rajon Rondo – 5,626 Assists
The decade of the 2010s featured some outstanding talent from playmakers across the league. With players like Chris Paul, Rajon Rondo, James Harden, and LeBron James nipping at his heels, Russell Westbrook came out on top as the decade’s best assist man. Westbrook became an MVP during the decade as well as the second man to ever average a triple-double for an entire season which he did 3 times during the 2010s and once in the 2020s.
Westbrook has won a total of 3 assists titles so far in his career, and 2 of them came in the 2010s. Westbrook was as explosive and athletic as any point guard that ever played during this time and was considered to be the game’s top player at his position. For the entirety of the 2010s, Westbrook dished out at least 700 assists in 5 of those seasons. He averaged 8.7 APG over the course of those 10 years, which propelled him to be the decade’s best assist man.
2020s – Trae Young – 2,244 Assists
2nd Place: Nikola Jokic – 2,038 Assists
3rd Place: Chris Paul – 2,013 Assists
The 2020s have gotten off to a bang over the last 4 seasons featuring some of the NBA’s best up-and-coming point guards. A stray is in the mix for this decade as well, with Nikola Jokic dishing out the 2nd-most assist of any player since 2019-20. Chris Paul is also holding strong even as he enters his late 30s as one of the game’s best passers to this day. The man who comes in first for the 2020s, however, is someone who is known more for his shooting and scoring than anything, Trae Young.
Young made NBA history in 2021-22 when he became the first player since Tiny Archibald in 1972-73 to lead the NBA in total points and total assists. Since 2020, Young has averaged 9.6 APG compared to 4.2 turnovers which is high even for someone who controls the ball as much as he does. His assists totals have topped 550 every season so far in the 2020s, and is currently at 353 for the 2022-23 season. If Young continues on this trend, he could become just the 4th player ever with 100 assists in a season.
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