The Basics About Assists in Basketball

In basketball, an assist is a statistic that is given to a player that has passed the ball to a teammate that just scored a field goal. This is accredited to the player that "assisted" to the basket. The official definition of an assist can vary from opinion. Some people feel that if a player dribbles after getting the ball, the player that passed the ball should not be credited with an assist. Still, it is tallied. Only zero or one assists can be credited for a basket- there cannot be more than one. Only the pass that directly preceded the basket will be given the assist. If the player did not receive a pass, there is no assist credited to anyone. If a player is fouled and makes the free throws, the player that passed the ball that led to the shooting foul does not get credit for an assist.

Assist tallies are higher when players position themselves to get passes that lead to easy scores. The main play to do this is called a screen. This will leave a player open for a pass. If a player is often double teamed, they may take a hit in points scored but an increase in assists, as a player will be open and can score when passed to.

A better gauge to tell if a player is a good passer is the assist-to-turnover ratio. This will divide the assists by the amount of turnovers. This gives you a better idea of who is a better passer as it will show the efficiency. If a player has a high amount of assists, this does not mean that they are a good passer - this just means that have passed the ball a great number of times.

Point guards are the player on the team that record the most assists in typical situations, as they are the primary ball handlers on the team. However, Wilt Chamberlain led the NBA in assists in 1968, due to his ability to kick the ball out to open teammates on the wing. The most assists in one game was done on December 30, 1990. Scott Skiles of the Orlando Magic holds this record with 30 in one game.

The NBA single-game assist record is 30, held by Scott Skiles of the Orlando Magic against the Denver Nuggets, on December 30, 1990. John Stockton has the most assists in the history of the National Basketball Association. Mark Jackson is a distant second, as he is over five-thousand assists behind Stockton. Magic Johnson has the highest career average with 11.2 per game. Stockton, who is second, holds the record for highest average in one season with 14.5 assists per game. Oscar Robertson almost had 10,000 career assists in which baskets after a dribble were not counted as assists.

Wikipedia, Assist (basketball)