Listing the only 6 NBA players who reached 10,000+ career assists

#3 Steve Nash

Head coach Steve Nash of the Brooklyn Nets

Steve Nash has one assist more than Jackson in the NBA's all-time leaderboard, which is why he occupies the no.3 spot. He played in the league for 18 seasons before retiring at the age of 39.

Nash was selected with the 15th overall pick by the Phoenix Suns in the 1996 NBA draft. He had a rough start, so he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks two seasons later. Things started to look up for the Canadian, as he made his first All-Star appearance after six seasons in the NBA.

He started to drop assists more effectively down the line in his career, getting named the assist champion in five different seasons. In his second run with the Suns, where he won two MVP awards, Nash averaged double-digit assists in seven of eight seasons.

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#2 Jason Kidd

Head coach Jason Kidd of the Dallas Mavericks

The gap between Jason Kidd and Nash on the NBA's all-time assists leaderboard is a lot, almost 2,000 points. Kidd made an instant impact when he joined the NBA, earning the co-MVP title in 1995.

Kidd was a triple-double threat every time he stepped on the court because of his ability to make assists and clean the glass. He recorded 12,091 assists during his career. Although he never crossed the 1,000 assists mark in a single season, he was an elite-level passer, and that showed his career tally.

The Dallas Mavericks signed Kidd as head coach following spells with the Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks and LA Lakers (assistant). He knows a thing or two about ball movement, and that could reflect in the way the Mavericks play in the 2021-22 NBA season.

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#1 John Stockton

John Stockton of the Utah Jazz

John Stockton was an absolute peach of a passer during his time in the NBA. He spent his 19-year career, creating assists as a member of the Utah Jazz and also scoring at an efficient rate.

Karl Malone was the principal benefactor of Stockton's assists, as the duo partnered for 18 consecutive seasons. Although they both failed to win a championship, they came incredibly close, especially in 1997 and 1998. But they lost both NBA Finals to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.

Stockton holds several assists records in the NBA. Tallying 1,000+ assists in a single season has only been achieved nine times in NBA history. But Stockton has recorded that milestone on seven occasions, five of them coming in as many consecutive seasons.

The ten-time All-Star led the NBA in assists for nine consecutive seasons, doing so from 1988 to 1996. His career assists tally stands at 15,806, a number that will likely not be matched for a very long time.