Nylon Calculus: A brief history of LeBron James’ career assists

LeBron James is one of the most legendary passers in NBA history. Which teammates have benefited the most from his extraordinary vision?

At the age of 35 and his 17th season, LeBron James was on pace to accomplish something he’d never done before. At the time of the season’s interruption, LeBron was averaging 10.6 assists per game for the Lakers, the most in the league. For all his incredible statistical achievements, he’d never led the league in assists and never averaged double-digits for a full season.

LeBron’s passing has always been one of the most elite and celebrated tools in his toolbox and it’s fitting to see him lean ever further into as he ages through his prime.

Only one active player (Chris Paul) has more career assists than LeBron and the next closest player is Russell Westbrook who trails by more than 2,000. LeBron is currently eighth on the all-time NBA list and given his current pace, seems likely to pass Paul and Oscar Robertson before he retires, probably even leaping Magic Johnson, Mark Jackson and Steve Nash for third before it’s all said and done.

Which players have gotten the most assists from LeBron James?

In his career, LeBron has recorded at least one assist to 139 different players, including seven other former No. 1 draft picks (Anthony Davis, Derrick Rose, Dwight Howard, Greg Oden, Joe Smith, Kyrie Irving, Shaquille O’Neal). Of those 139 players, here are the ones who found themselves on the receiving end most often:

Another fun tidbit — LeBron’s assists have netted his teammates 21,741 points. That total would rank 40th on the all-time scoring list, just 50 points behind Larry Bird. There is also an interesting club of players who have received just a single assist from LeBron — Billy Thomas, Cedric Simmons, Darnell Jackson, David Wesley, Eddy Curry, Jamaal Magloire, Josh Harrellson and Justin Hamilton.

None of his current Lakers’ teammates are on the chart above (except the newly acquired J.R. Smith) but it won’t be long before Anthony Davis makes his way on. When the season was interrupted, LeBron had handed out 172 assists to Davis, the most of any combination of players on any team this season. That mark is also the most LeBron has ever handed out to any teammate in a single season and they accomplished it in just 53 games. The previous high was 141, to Kevin Love in 2017-18 and Chris Bosh in 2013-14.

At their current pace, Davis would draw even with Irving on the chart above by the end of the eight-game regular-season restart. A similar pace in a 60-game season next year would let Davis leapfrog everyone but Ilgauskas, Love, Bosh and Wade, and probably let Kyle Kuzma creep into the top-10 as well.