What is an assist in basketball?

[southerndog]

It seems like there would be one on almost every field goal.

[banditbdl]

The shot following the pass has to come pretty quickly for the pass to count as an assist. For instance, if the ball is swung around and a guy then takes say 2 or 3 dribbles and hits a pull up jumper, that's not an assist.

[Sundevils21]

really? that doesn't count as an assist? I always thought it did. You learn something new everyday.
That is completly different from hockey, where you can pass it to someone, and on the way the puck gets hit by 3other opponents sticks, and still get an assist if the player scores.

[blackaces13]

Yeah I remember when I used to play NBA Live 98 in season mode I would always try to get off my shot quickly after the pass so I could get Chris Childs to lead the league in assists.

For the record I think 2 dribbles would qualify for an assist. I guess it depends how much time it takes the guy to make the 2 dribbles.

[JTrout]

If the receiver of the pass makes any move to get open before the shot, it isn't an assist.

[IrishHand]

From the NBA rules: "Any pass leading directly to a basket shall be considered an assist."

There are no limits on dribbles, post moves, or any such thing. If grab a defensive board and outlet the ball to your point guard at center court who turns and fastbreaks for a layup, it doesn't matter if he dribbles the ball a half-dozen times, that's an assist. Likewise, if you pass the ball to a man cutting backdoor and he spins around a post defender for a layup, that's an assist.

Approximately 60% of field goals in the NBA are credited with an assist. No assist off offensive rebounds/tips, no assists off steal/layups. Everything else is possible. Generally, though, you won't see assists when the recipient of the pass waits a second or two before making a move to the basket. Most fast-break baskets (of the non-solo variety) are assisted...most jumpers are assisted...post plays are probably 50/50.

Of course, keep in mind that the NBA is an entertainment business, and stats help the cause. If you manually do the stats of any NBA game, you'll see that what actually happened and what appears on a box score aren't necessarily the same thing.

Hope that helps,
Irish

[Sloats]

[ QUOTE ]
really? that doesn't count as an assist? I always thought it did. You learn something new everyday.
That is completly different from hockey, where you can pass it to someone, and on the way the puck gets hit by 3other opponents sticks, and still get an assist if the player scores.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hockey used to be like that.... They have gotten a lot looser in their interpretation of assists. Also note that it is a lot easier to knock the puck off of a hockey player so that long cross ice pass that leads to 5 strides before a goal still requires some effort.

[Sundevils21]

Yea not only does completing the pass take skill, the other player still has to put it into the net, which doesn't happen very often.
Even on one-timers, the puck usually gets deflected off of something before finding the net. Definatly should still be counted as an assist though.

[Dynasty]

[ QUOTE ]
It seems like there would be one on almost every field goal.

[/ QUOTE ]

Keep in mind that there can't be assists when somebody scores off of an offensive rebound.

When I was a basketball stat guy in high school, the players occassionally bitched that I wasn't recording all the assists. But, the coach said he thought I had it about right.

[offTopic]

When one NBA player has the bong and the weed, but no lighter, the NBA player providing the lighter is credited with an assist.

[Joe Tall]

In the NBA, who knows what it is...

My guess:

A pass to a player who eventually scores. The player can dribble with 2 hands, twice, take 5 steps and switch pivot feet before scoring.

/images/graemlins/grin.gif,
Joe Tall