By John Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
There no need to take a look at the assists leaders table to figure out that Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo are persistent on searching for their teammates. However, it remains striking that the Serb and the Greek bigs are among a sea of point guards. Their 2018-19 stats prove beyond any doubt they’re creative, not only effective in scoring, rebounding, at what players their size normally excel.
Jokic, 24, is sixth overall in the NBA with 447 assists to date. He’s dishing 7.7 per contest, which is enough for a Top 10 position on the players’ averages. Any way you calculate his helpers, the Denver Nuggets player is en route for a career-high in assists during his fourth NBA campaign.
Antetokounmpo, 24, has been around for two more seasons, but has never finished the year with over 5.4 assists per match. This season he’s averaging six dimes per game, 330 in 55 appearances. He’s 17th overall, fourth among forwards or centers behind Ben Simmons, Jokic and Kevin Durant.
Here are the Top 20 players with the most assists in the 2018-19 season:
Player |
Assists | Average |
| 1. Russell Westbrook | 560 | 11 |
| 2. Jrue Holiday | 480 | 7.9 |
| 3. Ben Simmons | 464 | 7.9 |
| 4. Trae Young | 460 | 7.7 |
| 5. Kyle Lowry | 447 | 9.1 |
| 6. Nikola Jokic | 444 | 7.7 |
| 7. James Harden | 423 | 7.7 |
| 8. De’Aaron Fox | 418 | 7.2 |
| 9. D’ Angelo Russell | 400 | 6.7 |
| 10. Damian Lillard | 373 | 6.4 |
| 11. Mike Conley | 370 | 6.4 |
| 12. Darren Collison | 359 | 6 |
| 13. DeMar DeRozan | 343 | 6.1 |
| 14. Kevin Durant | 343 | 5.8 |
| 15. Kyrie Irving | 340 | 6.9 |
| 16. Kemba Walker | 334 | 5.7 |
| 17. Giannis Antetokounmpo | 330 | 6 |
| 18. Bradley Beal | 324 | 5.4 |
| 19. Draymond Green | 518 | 7.2 |
| 20. LeBron James | 316 | 7.7 |
Additionally, Spaniard Ricky Rubio is 21st with 315 assists to his name this year. The Slovenian sensation, Luka Doncic, is 24th with 307.