HoopTalk – Assists

As a point guard, there is nothing better than setting your teammates up for a high-quality shot. I love watching a good pass over some of the other highlights we see nowadays. One might think that three-point shooting should increase the number of assists per game. That is mostly true nowadays due to the pace of play, but why has there only been one 50-assist game in this century?

This table highlights just how fast the 1970’s-1990’s were in the NBA. Why?

Assists	Team	Opponent	Date	Score	Assisted FGM %
53	Milwaukee Bucks	Detroit Pistons	Dec 26, 1978	143-84	81.5% (53/65)
52	Denver Nuggets	Golden State Warriors	Apr 21, 1989	139-121	85.2% (52/61)
52	Seattle SuperSonics	Denver Nuggets	Mar 18, 1983	147-117	77.6% (52/67)
52	Chicago Bulls	Atlanta Hawks	Mar 20, 1971	138-121	85.2% (52/61)
51	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets	Feb 23, 1982	145-129	77.3% (51/66)
51	Phoenix Suns	San Antonio Spurs	Feb 2, 1979	133-108	85.0% (51/60)
50	Indiana Pacers	Atlanta Hawks	Jan 5, 2024	150-116	83.3% (50/60)
50	Washington Wizards	Indiana Pacers	May 3, 2021	154-141	79.4% (50/63)
50	Phoenix Suns	Denver Nuggets	Nov 10, 1990	173-143	74.6% (50/67)
50	Houston Rockets	LA Clippers	Mar 15, 1986	148-116	78.1% (50/64)
50	San Antonio Spurs	Denver Nuggets	Apr 15, 1984	157-154	75.8% (50/66)

The interesting part is that in the current era, we may see more games like this, and I find that exciting. People should embrace the movement era, unlike the isolation era.

Some historical data:

1960s–1970s (high-pace era): League APG often 25–28+, peaking around 28 in some seasons.

2000s (ISO-heavy era): Dip to ~20–22 APG as isolation play dominated.

2010s–present (3-point/movement era): Steady rise to 25–28 APG (2024–25 around 27–28). Pace is moderate.

Correlation: Higher Assists/Ball Movement vs Isolation for Offensive Quality

Yes, there is a strong positive correlation between high assist rates (ball movement) and offensive efficiency, while heavy isolation tends to correlate with lower efficiency. So when might we see the next 50-assist game?

We may never again see NBA teams reach 50+ assists in a game as frequently as in the past. This is partly because hitting that mark requires a high number of made field goals (FGM).

In the 1970s era, when games often featured over 110 possessions per team, squads routinely made 70-80 FGM per game. Even with an average assist rate of 50-60% (the percentage of FGM that were assisted), this typically yielded only 35-48 assists per night.

So after all that, the short answer is yes, in today’s offense-centered game, there is always the potential for an offensive explosion like the Pacers had in 2024, winning 150-116.