Trae Young of the Washington Wizards leads the 2026-27 assists race at 11.3 a game after three games, and no price is posted for the title: ESPN’s NBA futures board, read on October 26, 2026, has 21 markets and none for assists. Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets is the holder, with 10.7 a game in 2025-26.
Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons was second last season at 9.9. This season opened on October 20, so every average below rests on two or three games.
The 2026-27 assists race so far
These are the top ten qualified players in assists per game on ESPN’s 2026-27 regular-season leader board, read on October 26, 2026.
| Player | Team | Assists per game | Games | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trae Young | Washington Wizards | 11.3 | 3 | 34 |
| Jalen Johnson | Atlanta Hawks | 10.0 | 3 | 30 |
| Tyrese Haliburton | Indiana Pacers | 9.7 | 3 | 29 |
| Jayson Tatum | Boston Celtics | 9.0 | 2 | 18 |
| Davion Mitchell | Miami Heat | 8.7 | 3 | 26 |
| De’Aaron Fox | San Antonio Spurs | 8.3 | 3 | 25 |
| Keyonte George | Utah Jazz | 8.3 | 3 | 25 |
| Josh Giddey | Chicago Bulls | 8.3 | 3 | 25 |
| Luka Doncic | Los Angeles Lakers | 8.0 | 3 | 24 |
| Cade Cunningham | Detroit Pistons | 8.0 | 3 | 24 |
Young has 34 assists, four more than Jalen Johnson in the same three games. Jokic has 15 in two games, 7.5 a game. Three games is too few to say much: last season Young averaged 8.0 over 15 games and Johnson 7.9 over 72.
2025-26 assists leaders
These were the top ten in assists per game on ESPN’s 2025-26 regular-season leader board.
| Player | Team | Assists per game | Games | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nikola Jokic | Denver Nuggets | 10.7 | 65 | 697 |
| Cade Cunningham | Detroit Pistons | 9.9 | 64 | 634 |
| Josh Giddey | Chicago Bulls | 9.1 | 54 | 494 |
| Luka Doncic | Los Angeles Lakers | 8.3 | 64 | 530 |
| Ja Morant | Memphis Grizzlies | 8.1 | 20 | 161 |
| Trae Young | Washington Wizards | 8.0 | 15 | 120 |
| James Harden | Cleveland Cavaliers | 8.0 | 70 | 557 |
| Jalen Johnson | Atlanta Hawks | 7.9 | 72 | 566 |
| Andrew Nembhard | Indiana Pacers | 7.7 | 57 | 437 |
| Stephon Castle | San Antonio Spurs | 7.4 | 68 | 502 |
Jokic led by 0.8 a game and by 63 assists over Cunningham, in one more game. Morant and Young played 20 and 15 games, so their averages rest on a quarter of a season or less.
Jalen Johnson played the most games of the ten, 72, and Harden was next with 70. Castle was tenth, for a San Antonio team that won 62 games and the Western Conference.
Recent NBA assists leaders
| Season | Leader | Team | Assists per game |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | Nikola Jokic | Denver Nuggets | 10.7 |
| 2024-25 | Trae Young | Atlanta Hawks | 11.6 |
| 2023-24 | Tyrese Haliburton | Indiana Pacers | 10.9 |
| 2022-23 | James Harden | Philadelphia 76ers | 10.7 |
| 2021-22 | Chris Paul | Phoenix Suns | 10.8 |
| 2020-21 | Russell Westbrook | Washington Wizards | 11.7 |
| 2019-20 | LeBron James | Los Angeles Lakers | 10.2 |
| 2018-19 | Russell Westbrook | Oklahoma City Thunder | 10.7 |
| 2017-18 | Russell Westbrook | Oklahoma City Thunder | 10.2 |
| 2016-17 | James Harden | Houston Rockets | 11.2 |
| 2015-16 | Rajon Rondo | Sacramento Kings | 11.7 |
Eleven seasons produced eight different leaders. Westbrook led three times and Harden twice, and nobody has repeated since Westbrook’s two in a row in 2017-18 and 2018-19.
Every leader in this span averaged at least 10.2. Jokic’s 10.7 matched Harden’s in 2022-23 and Westbrook’s in 2018-19, and it came in a season when only one other player reached 9.0 over more than 60 games.
The runner-up has won the next title four years running
In each of the last four seasons, the assists leader was the player who finished second the season before. Harden was second in 2021-22 at 10.3 and led in 2022-23. Haliburton was second in 2022-23 at 10.4 and led in 2023-24.
Young followed the same path, second at 10.8 in 2023-24 and first at 11.6 in 2024-25. Jokic was second at 10.2 in 2024-25 and led in 2025-26. The runner-up in 2025-26 was Cunningham, at 9.9. That is a record of what happened, not a price, and four seasons is a short run.
How to read assists leader odds once they post
A price converts to a break-even chance. For plus money, divide 100 by the price plus 100: a player at +200 needs to win 33.3% of the time. For minus money, divide the price by the price plus 100, so a favorite at -120 needs 54.5%.
A bet on the assists title is worth making only when you rate a player’s chance higher than the price does. ESPN’s 2026-27 NBA board on October 26 carries team, conference, division, In-Season Tournament and award markets, with no statistical leader market among them.
More NBA futures and picks
The rebounding race is on our NBA rebounds leader odds page, the MVP on our NBA MVP odds, and the title on our NBA championship odds.
Our NBA predictions carry the nightly calls, and every club is on the NBA teams page. Our NBA betting guide covers the season, and for paid NBA picks the membership trial is here.