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An ‘assist’ is a stat in basketball that is awarded to a player who passes the ball to his/her teammate in a way that leads to a field goal made. This inturn means he or she was assisting a shot which was scored into the basket.
Also read: 10 of the most unbreakable NBA Records
Often there is some judgement involved in whether the assist is to be awarded or not depending on certain in-game situations.
There have been many dynamic playmakers in the history of the game as well as many superstar point guards in the NBA who have revolutionised the way team-mates are involved in the game. Many of these players possess career assist statistics of double digits per game.
John Stockton leads the NBA in all time assists with 15,806 and is over 3,000 assists ahead of second rank-holder Jason Kidd (12,091).
However, when we talk about a single NBA game, the record for most assists is held by Scott Skiles with 30 assists.
NBA Career
Skiles had a 10-year NBA career as a point guard, playing for the likes of Milwaukee Bucks, Indiana Pacers, Orlando Magic, Washington Bullets and Philadelphia 79ers.
In 1989, newly-formed Orlando Magic signed Scott Skiles for a backup point guard role, but it was in the 1990-1991 season when Skiles was promoted to a regular starting point guard.
On December 30th 1990, Skiles found teammate Jerry Reynolds with 19.6 seconds left in an eventual 155-116 victory over the Denver Nuggets, giving him his 30th assist of the game. This feat broke the previous NBA record of 29 which was set in 1978 by Kevin Porter of the New Jersey Nets.
Skiles recorded 30 assists along with 22 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals in 44 minutes of play. He managed 14 assists in the first half, 10 assists in the third quarter, and 6 assists in the fourth quarter and passed for more than twice as many assists as the opposing team (30-14).
The Indiana native went on to win the NBA Most Improved Player for that 1990-1991 season as he gracefully doubled his scoring and assisting numbers from the previous season.
Scott played in the NBA till 1995 -1996 season, when he endured a shoulder injury. After the injury, he left the NBA for the Greek League and joined PAOK in Thessaloniki.
The point guard held career averages of 11.1 points and 6.5 assists per game in the NBA.
Surprise Coaching Stint
Everyone expected a winning season after the arrival of an NBA talent, but it did not seem to materialise at first due to injuries and contract problems with the key players. Thus, threatening the championship aspirations for the franchise. Even the job of the French Coach Michel Gomez seemed to be in jeapordy.
Scott Skiles, who himself was struggling with the injury, requested to be released from his contract in the mid-season, but as a part of a surprising move, team President Lakis Alexopoulos fired coach Gomez and offered the job to Skilles. This was the first coaching stint for Skiles, and also a successful one.
Despite lacking majority of their top players because of injury, he led the team to third position in the Greek League for the 1996-1997 season, which also assured a qualification to the Euroleague in the following year. This was a big achievement for a rookie coach.
Skiles returned to the NBA next year as an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns and then got promoted to their Head Coach position in 1999. He is now one of the most respected coaches in the NBA and is currently trying to construct glory years for the young and talented Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference.
Previous teams he has coached include the Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks.
Assist record
In the history of NBA, 22 different players have recorded 23 or more assists in a single NBA game. It has been recorded 39 times in a regular season game and 5 times in a playoff game.
John Stockton leads the pack with ten times for recording 23 or more assists in a single NBA game.
In terms of highest assists in a single game, Scott Skiles (30) leads the pack with Kevin Porter (28) in second place. John Stockton, Guy Rodgers and Bob Cousey are tied in third place with 28 assists each, while Stockton again and Geoff Huston hold fourth place with 27 assists.
Player
Assists (single game)
Team Scott Skiles 30 Orlando Magic Kevin Porter 29 New Jersey Nets John Stockton 28 Utah Jazz Guy Rodgers 28 San Francisco Warriors Bob Cousy 28 Boston Celtics John Stockton 27 Utah Jazz Geoff Huston 27 Cleveland Cavaliers John Stockton 26 Utah Jazz
