Look at the NBA record book and you’ll see some numbers that just don't make sense. Wilt Chamberlain once averaged 48.5 minutes per game. Rasheed Wallace got whistled for 41 technical fouls in a single season. But if we’re being honest, those are just quirks of a different era. There is one category, however, where the gap between first place and everyone else is so wide it feels like a typo. We’re talking about the NBA all-time assist leaders.
When you scroll through the list, you see the usual suspects: Chris Paul, Jason Kidd, LeBron James. Legends. Then you get to the top. John Stockton is sitting there with 15,806 career assists. To give you some perspective, Chris Paul—who has been an elite floor general for two decades—is still thousands of assists behind. It's wild.
The John Stockton Problem
Seriously, how did Stockton do it? People love to talk about the "home cooking" at the Delta Center in Utah. There’s this long-standing rumor that the Jazz scorekeepers were, let’s say, generous with what they called an assist.
But here’s the thing: even if you stripped away every questionable home assist, he’d still be the king. Stockton basically turned the assist into a science. He played 19 seasons and missed only 22 games. Total. In 17 of those 19 seasons, he played every single game. That kind of durability doesn't exist anymore. Modern stars take "load management" days if they wake up with a stiff neck. Stockton played through everything.
It also helped that he had Karl Malone catching his passes for 18 years. You run a pick-and-roll with the second-leading scorer in history for two decades, you're gonna rack up some numbers.
Why nobody is catching him
Kinda puts things in perspective when you realize that to break Stockton's record, a player would need to average 10 assists per game, play all 82 games a year, and do it for nearly 20 years.
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Honestly, it’s not happening.
LeBron and the Longevity Freaks
While Stockton is untouchable, the rest of the NBA all-time assist leaders list is seeing some major shakeups lately. LeBron James is the name that messes with everyone's head. He’s a "small forward," yet he’s currently sitting in the top four.
As of early 2026, LeBron has actually moved into the second spot on the combined (regular season and playoffs) list, passing Chris Paul. It’s a testament to the fact that LeBron isn’t just a scorer; he’s basically a 6'9" point guard who decided to also become the greatest scorer ever.
- John Stockton: 15,806
- Chris Paul: 12,552 (and counting)
- Jason Kidd: 12,091
- LeBron James: 11,729 (and counting)
- Steve Nash: 10,335
Chris Paul is still active, currently leading the second unit or starting depending on the night, but his pace has slowed. He’s 40. He’s still "Point God," but he’s not dropping 12 dimes a night anymore. LeBron, somehow, is still averaging around 7 or 8 assists at age 41. It's borderline offensive to the aging process.
The Mid-Tier Legends
We often forget how good Mark Jackson and Steve Nash were because they don't have the "counting stats" of a 20-year career. Nash, in particular, is a "what if" story. He didn't really become Steve Nash until he got to Phoenix in his 30s. If he had played in a high-octane system his whole career, he might be challenging Kidd for that third spot.
Then you have Russell Westbrook. Love him or hate him, the man is an assist machine. He’s already passed Magic Johnson on the all-time list. Think about that. Magic is widely considered the greatest passer to ever live, but Westbrook’s high-usage, triple-double-hunting style pushed him past the Laker legend in total volume.
Magic "only" had 10,141 assists because his career was tragically cut short. If Magic plays a full 18 seasons? He’s the one pushing Stockton.
The Joker is Coming
If you want a dark horse for the top 10, keep your eyes on Nikola Jokić. He’s already around 5,700 assists. For a center, that is absurd. He’s only 30. If he plays another seven or eight seasons at this pace—where he’s basically a triple-double threat every single night—he’s going to finish in the top 5.
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He’s changing the way we think about the "assist." It used to be a point guard stat. Now? The best passer in the world is a 7-foot Serbian who looks like he just rolled out of bed.
Does the Record Actually Matter?
The "all-time" list is a bit of a longevity contest. It rewards the guys who stayed healthy and played forever. But when you talk to old-school hoopers, they’ll tell you that assists today aren't what they used to be.
The "Stat-Padding" Debate:
- Modern scorekeepers are way more liberal.
- If a player takes two dribbles and scores, it's often counted as an assist now.
- In the 80s, you basically had to catch and shoot for it to count.
- The pace of the game is much faster now, meaning more possessions and more chances for dimes.
So, is Stockton's 15,000 more impressive than Magic's 10,000? Most experts would say Magic was the better passer, but Stockton was the better "stat accumulator." It’s a subtle difference, but it matters when you’re arguing at a bar.
Moving Forward
If you’re a fan of playmaking, we’re actually in a golden age. We have "Point Centers" like Jokić and "Point Wings" like Luka Dončić who are putting up numbers that Oscar Robertson would find exhausting.
To really understand the NBA all-time assist leaders, you have to look past the raw numbers and see the context. Stockton had the perfect system. CP3 has the perfect IQ. LeBron has the perfect body.
What to watch for next:
Keep a close eye on the box scores for the rest of this 2025-26 season. LeBron is on pace to potentially catch Jason Kidd for the #3 spot in regular-season assists by the time the playoffs roll around. If he pulls that off, he’ll be top 3 in points AND assists. That’s a level of dominance we might never see again.
Also, watch James Harden. He’s currently sitting at #12 and is closing in on Isiah Thomas. Breaking into that top 10 is a legacy-defining move for a guy who many people think of only as a "scorer."
The record for #1 is safe. Stockton can sleep easy. But the battle for spots 2 through 10 is the most competitive it’s ever been.
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Check out the nightly leaderboards on sites like Basketball-Reference or the NBA’s official stats page to see these active legends climb the ladder in real-time. Every game LeBron or CP3 plays is literally history in the making.