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Passing skills can often be overlooked in the NBA. While the ability to execute a great pass is an important skill for any team with title aspirations in the league, every basketball player should be able to master simple and fundamental passes.
We have seen some fantastic passers in NBA history. There have been some flashy passers as well as players who destroy opposing teams methodically with fundamental passing.
Top 10 passers in NBA history
A high tally of assists does not always indicate an immense ability to pass the ball with efficiency. Some players can have many assists per game simply because their team's offensive system requires them to handle the ball most of the time.
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This article will rank the 10 best passers in the history of the NBA. While some names can be easily predicted, others could be surprising.
#10 Rajon Rondo
In a close call between Rajon Rondo and Mark Jackson (who remains an underrated player with more than 10,000 assists in his career), the two-time NBA champion with the Boston Celtics and the LA Lakers takes the 10th spot on this list.
Despite some ups and downs after he departed from the Boston Celtics in 2014, Rondo has had a tremendous NBA career that could earn a spot in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Rondo has led the NBA three times in assists per game and averages 8.2 assists per game in his career. He also tends to play a lot better during the postseason. His two NBA championships were won with good performances from him during the NBA Playoffs.
#9 Larry Bird
Larry Bird is remembered for his scoring skills and his ability to take over any game from a scoring standpoint. However, he was also a great passer who could be dominant even when he did not score 25 or 30 points in a game.
Bird could fill the stat sheet easily, and his average of six assists per game is fantastic for a true forward with a Usage Percentage that ranks 49th in NBA history.
#8 Jason Kidd
Jason Kidd's tremendous abilities at the point guard position helped him play two NBA Finals with the New Jersey Nets during his prime. They also helped him win an NBA title with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011.
Kidd was a great point guard who would always be close to a Triple-Double against any team. His passing was incredible, and he led the NBA in assists per game five times.
Moreover, Kidd ranks second in the number of assists in NBA history, with 12,091.
#7 Chris Paul
Chris Paul is an excellent point guard overall. The 35-year-old can be a threat to opposing teams even if they decide to stop his playmaking abilities as he can score efficiently, while boasting a tremendous mid-range game.
Still, CP3's best asset is his great passing ability and his control of his team's offense. He has led the NBA in assists per game four times and three times in total assists.
His average of 11.6 assists per game in the 2007-08 campaign is the 22nd-highest in NBA history and the fourth-highest since 2000.
#6 Steve Nash
A two-time NBA MVP, Steve Nash was a great passer and arguably the greatest of the last two decades. Even though he could not reach an NBA championship during his illustrious career, his passing skills were great.
Nash was a flashy playmaker as well as a fundamental one. He led the NBA in assists per game five times in his career, which is the fourth-most in league history, tied with Jason Kidd. He is one of five NBA players to reach 10,000 assists in his career, and he ranks third with 10,335 assists.
#5 Isiah Thomas
The leader of the 'Bad Boy' Detroit Pistons, Isiah Thomas, was a great playmaker who could score with volume and facilitate for his teammates.
Thomas' point guard skills helped the Detroit 'Bad Boys' win two NBA championships in 1989 and 1990. They also earned him a Finals MVP award in 1990.
Thomas led a high-scoring offense at Detroit in the early and mid-1980s. However, he led the NBA in assists per game only once.
Still, his average of 13.9 assists per game in the 1984-85 NBA season is the third-highest average in the history of the National Basketball Association.
#4 Oscar Robertson
Oscar Robertson was the first player to average a Triple-Double in an entire NBA season. While he will always be remembered for that feat, his passing ability should not be overlooked.
'The Big O' led the NBA in assists per game seven times in his 14 years in the league. He also won six assists championships in his career (until the 1968-69 NBA season, the assists championship was determined by the assists total and not the APG average, as it is now).
Robertson won an NBA championship with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then known as Lew Alcindor) and the Milwaukee Bucks in 1971. Moreover, he ranks sixth in the number of assists in the NBA, with 9,887.
#3 LeBron James
Many analysts often say LeBron James' greatest ability is his way of passing the ball. While it is hard to agree with such a thing from a player who averages 27 points in his career with an efficiency of 50% on his field goals, James is certainly one of the greatest passers in NBA history.
Assisting might not be his greatest skill, but LeBron James is a tremendous facilitator who is surely the greatest passer in today's NBA. He led the NBA in assists per game in the 2019-20 season with the LA Lakers.
He is likely to reach 10,000 assists before his NBA journey is over and would be the first forward to do so.
#2 John Stockton
John Stockton has almost every record regarding assists in the NBA and was arguably the most methodical passer in the history of basketball.
Stockton might have been predictable on offense, as his pick-and-roll with Karl Malone was their go-to move, but his greatness allowed them to dominate opposing defenses over and over again.
Even though his passing skills could not lead his team to an NBA championship, they got awfully close twice. However, Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls got in their way in consecutive NBA Finals.
Stockton is the all-time leader in total assists with an unbelievable 15,806 assists. He led the league in assists per game nine times (consecutively from 1988 to 1996). Additionally, he has the two-highest averages of assists per game in NBA history, 14.5 and 14.2.
Stockton owns five of the six-highest averages of assists per game in NBA history.
#1 Magic Johnson
Not only are Magic Johnson's passing skills the most spectacular in NBA history, but they also led the 1980s LA Lakers to five NBA championships.
The victory established Johnson as the best passer ever and one of the greatest players in NBA history.
Even though John Stockton owns most of the assists records in NBA history, it is Magic Johnson who has the highest average of assists per game for an entire career (11.2).
Johnson led the NBA in assists per game four times while he led the league three times in total assists. He also won three regular-season MVPs and three Finals MVPs with his passing ability as his best trait.
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