Assists in basketball

An assist is the pass that leads directly to a teammate's basket. Only the passer gets the assist, and a basket can have at most one. The NBA's glossary defines it as a pass that leads directly to a made basket. The FIBA Statisticians' Manual says the same thing in more detail.

What counts

• A pass to a teammate who scores without dribbling.
• A pass to a teammate who scores after a dribble or two, as long as the shooter did not have to beat their defender to score.
• A pass to a teammate inside the paint who scores from inside the paint (FIBA manual).
• An inbounds pass that leads directly to a score.

What does not count

• A pass followed by a missed shot and an offensive rebound. The miss breaks the chain, so a putback after it gets no assist.
• The pass before the last pass, even if it created the play. Only the last pass can be an assist.
• A pass that is clearly deflected and ends up with a different teammate than the one it was meant for.
• A long outlet to a teammate in their own half who then goes coast to coast (FIBA manual).

Judgment calls

Did the shooter create the shot? This is the hard one. If the shooter receives the pass, faces up a defender who is directly between them and the basket, and beats that defender one on one, most statkeepers give no assist. If the pass leaves the shooter with an easy path to the basket, it is an assist.

Free throws. Rule sets differ here. The FIBA manual gives an assist when the receiver is fouled while shooting and makes at least one free throw. The NBA definition counts only passes that lead to made baskets. Use your league's rule and apply it the same way all season.

How a statkeeper records it

Record the assist together with the basket it set up. Write down the passer's number as soon as the ball goes in, because the next possession starts fast.

Say it to HoopReads

You can name the assist alone, or say the whole play and let HoopReads record both the assist and the basket.

“assist Carter”

“Marcus finds James for the three”

“Tyler dime to Isaiah for the layup”

Related stats

Assists go with points, and coaches often compare them with turnovers. Back to the basketball stats guide.