Debating top-10-star status has become a rite of passage for NBA fandom.
But why stop there? Heading into the 2026-27 season, the B/R NBA staff is ready to litigate who's who among the Association's bestโnot only from an all-around perspective but also in several skill categories.
Up next: the league's best creators.
As in seasons past, we're not predicting where players will finish in April. This is a breakdown of where the league stands right now, meaning players set to start the year sidelined or unsigned aren't included.
Read on to see how the list shook out.
Player summaries by Grant Hughes.
30. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Miami Heat
1 of 30
Career Stats: 4,484 Assists, 5.0 APG
2025-26 Stats: 196 Assists, 5.4 APG
Giannis Antetokounmpo has led the league in free-throw attempts four times and two-point field goals three times. The same hard-charging style that produced those results also allows him to spray the ball out to shooters.
For years, defenders have tried to combat Giannis' long strides, whirlwind spins and bruising shoulder checks by building a wall. Because it takes multiple bodies to do that, some number of Antetokounmpo's teammates get left unattended. So although Giannis isn't some preternatural passer who sees events before they happen, the net effect of his scoring aggression makes him a great facilitator.
All he has to do is scare opponents into filling up the lane, and he's got his choice of kick-out options.
29. Scottie Barnes, Toronto Raptors
2 of 30
Career Stats: 1,842 Assists, 5.2 APG
2025-26 Stats: 474 Assists, 5.9 APG
Nobody who watched Scottie Barnes average 8.6 assists across seven postseason games against the Cleveland Cavaliers last spring needs to hear this, but the Toronto Raptors' do-it-all forward can pass the rock.
Barnes' size, length and athleticism allow him to carve out space, draw defenders and capitalize on a collapsing defense. Though his handle isn't that of a conventional guard, his 6'8" stature and forceful style make it very difficult for opponents to disrupt him on the ball.
One of Toronto's issues last season was a lack of shooting. If the Raps had surrounded Barnes with more spacing threats, his 5.9 assists per game would have checked in a lot closer to his 9.6 potential assists per game. It only goes down as a dime in the box score if your teammate can knock down the shot.
28. Jalen Suggs, Orlando Magic
3 of 30
Career Stats: 1,010 Assists, 3.8 APG
2025-26 Stats: 312 Assists, 5.5 APG
The Orlando Magic offense has never been known for its ball movement, and Jalen Suggs tends to play so hard on defense that his minutes can't safely be allowed to climb too high. Both facts, neither of which actually speak to Suggs' skills, are beyond his control.
We know Suggs can pass because he averaged 9.5 dimes per 100 possessions last season, despite occupying nothing more than a third-option role whenever the Magic were healthy.
BBall Index rates his playmaking talent and passing creation quality as A-plusses, and Suggs also ranks in the 90th percentile in assist points created per 75 possessions. In other words, he's an extremely capable creator who doesn't get the rep count to amass conventional stats to prove it.
27. Austin Reaves, Los Angeles Lakers
4 of 30
Career Stats: 1,476 Assists, 4.5 APG
2025-26 Stats: 280 Assists, 5.5 APG
There's no way Austin Reaves would have gotten his $180 million contract in July if he were only being paid as a scorer.
Though he could only show it when Luka Donฤiฤ and/or LeBron James were out of the lineup last season, Reaves is an adept playmaker whose shifty handle and craft in the lane allow him to make plays like a true point guard.
Whether he's putting the ball exactly where it needs to be in transition or scanning the floor with eyes that seem to be in the back of his head, Reaves is a gifted bucket-getter who maps the court as if the goal is always to find an open teammate.
26. Darius Garland, LA Clippers
5 of 30
Career Stats: 2,859 Assists, 6.7 APG
2025-26 Stats: 301 Assists, 6.7 APG
Get ready for Darius Garland to climb these rankings, as he's about to step back into the primary creation role that allowed him to rack up 8.6 assists per game back in 2021-22.
Donovan Mitchell's arrival in Cleveland the following season naturally took the ball out of Garland's hands, which makes the 7.8 assists he averaged that year all the more impressive. As the Cavs moved forward, though, Garland's elite three-point shooting became a bigger weapon than his passing.
Now running the show with the LA Clippers, a new career high in assists feels likely. Garland could get there by running more pick-and-rolls and becoming the every-possession outlet in transition.
25. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
6 of 30
Career Stats: 6,743 Assists, 6.3 APG
2025-26 Stats: 203 Assists, 4.7 APG
Any possession that ends with Stephen Curry shooting the basketball is a good one, but the greatest marksman of all time has also done plenty of damage by capitalizing on every defense's fear of his stroke.
When all five defenders scramble to keep you from shooting, it creates an array of passing options to teammates who are typically open.
Curry has only averaged more than 8.0 assists per game once and generally finishes seasons closer to 6.0. That's not because he's anything less than one of the smartest passers and best ball-handlers in the league, but instead because no rationally devised offense would see him sacrifice any more of his own scoring chances than that.
Draymond Green is largely viewed as Golden State's main facilitator, but Curry has over 1,300 more career assists.
24. Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors
7 of 30
Career Stats: 5,324 Assists, 5.6 APG
2025-26 Stats: 376 Assists, 5.5 APG
Draymond Green overcame his limitations as a shooter by becoming one of the greatest defensive players of all time. If he hadn't also developed into an elite passer, he might still have struggled to play such a significant role in four championship seasons.
It turns out that building your whole offensive game around passing the ball to Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson is a pretty good idea.
Green figured out that cheat code in 2015-16, when he logged what remains a career-high 598 assists. A whopping 161 set up Thompson, while 159 of them went to Curry.
After Golden State lost Kevin Durant and Thompson, Green honed a handoff and hot-potato two-man game with Steph that flummoxed defenses and effectively functioned as the Golden State Warriors' go-to scoring plan whenever things got tight.
Green, Nikola Jokic and LeBron James are the only non-point guards to rank in the top 10 in total assists since 2015-16.
23. Ja Morant, Portland Trail Blazers
8 of 30
Career Stats: 2,428 Assists, 7.4 APG
2025-26 Stats: 161 Assists, 8.1 APG
The athleticism may be waning, and availability has been an issue, but Ja Morant has never lost his ability to distribute the basketball.
Even last year, when his scoring efficiency truly abandoned him in 20 underwhelming appearances, Morant matched a career high with 8.1 assists per game and averaged 4.8 rim assists per gameโahead of James Harden and LeBron James.
At his absolute peak, Morant was capable of ball-handling tricks no one this side of Kyrie Irving could even imagine. Quick, creative and highly aggressive, Morant could get to any spot on the floor in a blink.
It remains to be seen if Morant can continue to make that kind of impact on a Blazers roster that doesn't seem built for his skill set, but he'll find open teammates often enough if he can get into space and attract help defense.
22. Deni Avdija, Portland Trail Blazers
9 of 30
Career Stats: 1,450 Assists, 3.4 APG
2025-26 Stats: 442 Assists, 6.7 APG
Deni Avdija's downhill prowess is the key to his status as one of the league's best emerging distributors. Using his heft, an elite slow-down Eurostep and the occasional off-arm shove, Avdija amassed a league-high 4.9 free-throw attempts per game on an NBA-best 27.8 drives per game.
More than a head-down attacker, Avdija passed out of his drives 53.2 percent of the time and also led the league with 3.1 assists per game on drives.
Just imagine how much higher that number might have been if the Portland Trail Blazers had surrounded him with more willing shooters.
21. Alperen Sengun, Houston Rockets
10 of 30
Career Stats: 1,605 Assists, 4.5 APG
2025-26 Stats: 445 Assists, 6.2 APG
Like a lot of the rest of his game, Alperen Sengรผn's passing is effective because of how he weaponizes awkwardness. Sengรผn shoots off the wrong foot constantly, takes strange angles and generally operates at a cadence that causes confusion in his opponents.
That means his setups come at unusual times and from unexpected spots. He'll catch defenders unawares with a behind-the-back bouncer when he burrows into the post, and he's no stranger to the old "fake spin move before a no-look, two-hand shovel" if a teammate cuts at the right time.
Patient enough to pivot three or four times on a single touch, Sengรผn sometimes just waits out defenders. When they relax, he continues the action and usually finds somebody for an open look.
20. Kyrie Irving, Dallas Mavericks
11 of 30
Career Stats: 4,364 Assists, 5.6 APG
2024-25 Stats: 231 Assists, 4.6 APG
Kyrie Irving's creation starts with arguably the best handle of all time. Gifted with a singular ability to get to any spot on the floor with a live dribble, Irving commands uncommon levels of attention when he has the ball.
Scoring is always his first instinct, which it should be. Anyone who can so effectively work his way into space and then attack with one of the most diverse and creative finishing packages of all time would be doing fans a disservice if he didn't try to convert on his own. But Irving also has a knack for finding teammates in ways that clearly catch defenders off guard.
Here's a personal favorite from a few years ago.
19. De'Aaron Fox, San Antonio Spurs
12 of 30
Career Stats: 3,707 Assists, 6.1 APG
2025-26 Stats: 445 Assists, 6.2 APG
With apologies to Domantas Sabonis, De'Aaron Fox was the most important creator on the 2022-23 Sacramento Kings who, at the time, set the record for offensive efficiency in a season.
That version of Fox still possessed his league-best open-floor speed and had gained enough experience to maximize its impact. Almost no one was more dangerous in transition or turning the corner on a handoff, and Fox used his physical advantages to set up others as often as he scored himself.
A half-step slower and now playing a less central role for the San Antonio Spurs, Fox can still turn on the jets and sling passes to the corners with the best of them. Better still, he's grown more careful with the ball over the years. Last season saw Fox set a new career low with just 3.5 turnovers per 100 possessions.
18. Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns
13 of 30
Career Stats: 3,908 Assists, 5.3 APG
2025-26 Stats: 386 Assists, 6.0 APG
Only four players have averaged at least 25.0 points and 5.0 assists per game in each of the last four seasons, and Devin Booker is one of them.
The Phoenix Suns' mid-range maestro is a scorer first, but the team's roster construction has often cast Booker in the role of primary creator. That's probably too much responsibility for someone who is also required to rack up first-option scoring numbers, but it's impressive that the 11-year vet continues to answer the call.
The threat of Booker's pull-up mid-ranger means his individual defender has to stay close and helpers have to slide his way when he gets into the upper paint. He uses that gravity to fire pocket passes to rollers and flick lobs to cutters on the baseline.
17. Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers
14 of 30
Career Stats: 2,928 Assists, 4.8 APG
2025-26 Stats: 398 Assists, 5.7 APG
Donovan Mitchell's seven straight years of at least 24.0 points per game mark him as a score-first player, but he's learned to leverage the threat of his own offense to create chances for teammates.
The best illustration of that came back in 2023, when Mitchell scored a career-high 71 points but also handed out 11 assists against the Chicago Bulls. No one with a scoring total that high had ever logged double-digit dimes, and no one's done it since.
When defenses have to honor a scorer at all three levels, and when that scorer is also willing to swing the ball at the right time, great offense is basically a given.
16. Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers
15 of 30
Career Stats: 1,864 Assists, 4.8 APG
2025-26 Stats: 461 Assists, 6.6 APG
Speed puts pressure on a defense, contracting it and opening up passing options elsewhere on the floor. Tyrese Maxey, one of the fastest players in the league, has been using his velocity to create scoring chances for others since he entered the league in 2020-21.
Though tasked mainly with scoring the last handful of years, Maxey has averaged at least 6.1 assists per game every season since 2023-24. His ability to bend defenses with his quickness shows up in the way he puts teammates in position to reach the foul line.
Because Maxey's burst and handle draw so much attention, cutters can slip into vulnerable spaces, receive a pass and attack compromised defenders. Only five players hit shooters who were immediately fouled more often than Maxey.
15. Isaiah Collier, Utah Jazz
16 of 30
Career Stats: 869 Assists, 6.7 APG
2025-26 Stats: 423 Assists, 7.2 APG
This'll sound meaner than most compliments do, but Isaiah Collier is in the league because of his playmaking.
Without the setup skills that allowed him to average 9.3 assists per 36 minutes over his first two seasons, the ruggedly strong point guard's shooting (25.7 percent from three) and suspect defense wouldn't have been nearly enough to earn him rotation minutes and 65 starts.
Collier's on-ball abilities make him the central part of the Utah Jazz's offense whenever he's in the game.
Last season, only two playersโJosh Giddey and TJ McConnellโaccounted for a higher share of their team's assists when on the floor (minimum 50 games played). Given his youth and the gains he could unlock by becoming a more dangerous perimeter threat, Collier has a better shot than most to climb these rankings.
14. Jalen Johnson, Atlanta Hawks
17 of 30
Career Stats: 1,036 Assists, 4.0 APG
2025-26 Stats: 566 Assists, 8.0 APG
Jalen Johnson blossomed into an All-NBA star last season, and a lot of his growth owed to the Atlanta Hawks putting the ball in his hands more as a playmaker. En route to a career-best 8.0 assists per game, the 24-year-old forward showcased a remarkably deep arsenal of passes.
Adept at fitting high-speed bouncers into tight windows in transition, capable of firing two-handers over the top of defenses to rolling bigs and especially gifted at finding the dunker when he gets into the paint, Johnson clearly sees the game like a point guard.
His assist rate last season slotted into the 98th percentile among forwards, marking Johnson as one of the absolute best high-volume creators at his position.
13. Josh Giddey, Chicago Bulls
18 of 30
Career Stats: 2,197 Assists, 6.6 APG
2025-26 Stats: 494 Assists, 9.1 APG
Often, players with high assist numbers get them by hanging onto the ball for longer than average while they hunt down angles and wait for teammates to get into prime scoring position. Josh Giddey does things a little differently.
In averaging 9.1 assists per game last year, Giddey only dribbled 3.1 times per touch. For context, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Brunson are right around 5.0 dribbles per touch; LaMelo Ball and Cade Cunningham are usually around 4.5. Further evidence that the ball rarely sticks with Giddey: He averaged 71.7 passes per game in 2025-26, a figure topped only by Jokiฤ.
We tend to spend a lot of time picking nits with Giddey. He's not much of a defender, and defenses still aren't all that worried about him as a scoring threat. But the guy plays truly unselfish ball and involves his teammates better than almost anyone.
12. Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets
19 of 30
Career Stats: 3,044 Assists, 5.0 APG
2025-26 Stats: 535 Assists, 7.1 APG
Sure, it's a little easier to create scoring chances when your most frequent partner in the two-man game is Nikola Jokiฤ. But Jamal Murray isn't just out there racking up buckets and assists by accident.
Murray ranked 11th in the league last year in touches per game and fourth in secondary assists per game. In other words, he possessed the ball a ton, moved it without hunting his own assists and yet still managed to average a career-best 7.1 dimes per contest.
When Murray played without Jokiฤ in 2025-26, that number climbed to 8.3 helpers per game.
While Jokiฤ's impact is undeniably positive, Murray's facilitating stats are probably suppressed because he just happens to play with one of the best setup artists anyone's ever seen.
11. James Harden, Cleveland Cavaliers
20 of 30
Career Stats: 8,873 Assists, 7.3 APG
2025-26 Stats: 557 Assists, 8.0 APG
Though age has made him less of a threat to finish around the basket and therefore slightly more predictable for defenses, James Harden's pure skill and vision still make him one of the top playmakers around.
Starting with a handle that defenders still haven't figured out how to disrupt, Harden is able to get his shoulder past his man in isolation and read the floor in what feels like slow motion.
Lobs, spray-out lasers to the corners and slick over-the-shoulder finds to shooters waiting above the break are all on the menu. Much like LeBron, Harden has seen every coverage and knows where the cracks are. What he's lost in foot speed and scoring ability around the rim, he continues to make up for with his mental edge and experience.
10. LeBron James, Philadelphia 76ers
21 of 30
Career Stats: 12,016 Assists, 7.4 APG
2025-26 Stats: 432 Assists, 7.2 APG
LeBron James has led the league in assists just once and only averages 7.4 dimes per game for his career, but any serious examination of the history of basketball has to include him among the game's all-time great facilitators.
James sees the floor like few others, and his size has always allowed him access to passing anglesโover the top, around outstretched arms, through trafficโmost others miss.
With an encyclopedic knowledge of other teams' tendencies, more high-pressure minutes played than anyone in league history and hard wiring to play the right way, James' situational awareness and calm give him extra advantages that seem unfair in light of his physical tools and natural passing talents. He'll never be flustered by tricky coverage or defensive gimmicks. He's seen everything and can diagnose where the ball needs to go under any circumstances.
For 23 years, James has rated as an A-plus playmaker.
9. Stephon Castle, San Antonio Spurs
22 of 30
Career Stats: 834 Assists, 5.6 APG
2025-26 Stats: 502 Assists, 7.4 APG
Overwhelming athleticism made more potent by a competitive mean streak makes Stephon Castle a nightmare to defend. And while opponents are simply trying not to get knocked into the basket stanchion or dunked over, the San Antonio Spurs point guard frequently catches them unaware by ending possessions with a setup rather than a score.
Per BBall Index's playmaking metrics, Castle grades out as an A-plus in playmaking talent, passing creation volume and passing creation quality. In other words, he doesn't just facilitate often. He does so with pinpoint looks that create extremely high-value scoring chances for others.
In his second season, Castle put up 8.9 assists per 36 minutes. Even with teammate Dylan Harper emerging and De'Aaron Fox still likely to possess the ball plenty, that figure feels like a floor going forward.
8. Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
23 of 30
Career Stats: 2,952 Assists, 5.3 APG
2025-26 Stats: 503 Assists, 6.8 APG
Jalen Brunson has never averaged more than 7.3 assists per game over a full season, but he still qualifies as an elite creator because of the other ways in which he generates offense for teammates.
Among players who logged at least 1,500 minutes, no player spent a larger percentage of his court time in possession of the basketball last season than Brunson, who had the rock a whopping 48.1 percent of the time he was in the game for the New York Knicks. His ability to probe the defense, threaten to score from anywhere and manipulate opponents freed up scoring chances for everyone else.
The sheer stamina it takes to play like Brunson is also a factor. His ability to dominate the ball and attract defensive attention for such large chunks of the game allows everyone else to cut hard, fire away from deep with fresh legs and otherwise maximize the looks Brunson creates.
7. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
24 of 30
Career Stats: 2,810 Assists, 5.3 APG
2025-26 Stats: 448 Assists, 6.6 APG
In his second straight MVP season last year, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander cemented himself as the toughest individual cover in the league. He dominated in isolation and ranked first in scoring efficiency among high-volume pick-and-roll ball-handlers, posting an incredible 1.2 points per possession in those sets.
Because he was (and is) such a threat to score or draw shooting fouls with the ball, SGA's setups became incredibly valuable. With defenses generally freaking out whenever he turned the corner or sized up his man in isolation, Gilgeous-Alexander's teammates found themselves in advantage situations all the time.
When Gilgeous-Alexander passed the ball, it produced an assist 17.3 percent of the time. No one who played over 20 games last year topped that assist-to-pass percentage.
It's still the right move to make SGA a passer because he's so hard to handle as a scorer, but his development as a setup man makes that a clear pick-your-poison situation.
6. LaMelo Ball, Minnesota Timberwolves
25 of 30
Career Stats: 2,224 Assists, 7.3 APG
2025-26 Stats: 514 Assists, 7.1 APG
If creative flair and a swashbuckling style were worth bonus points, LaMelo Ball would probably check in a few spots higher on our list. As it is, he's got the underlying individual and team numbers to clearly rate as an ace creator.
Last season, the Charlotte Hornets' offensive rating was 11.6 points per 100 possessions higher with Ball in the game, the second straight year that figure was north of 11.0. That on-off spike owes to Ball's inventive style in the half-court and his knack for slinging the ball ahead in transition.
Though a career average of just 7.3 assists per game might not seem impressive, it's important to note that Ball makes up for a relative lack of quantity with quality. Among players who averaged at least 20.0 potential assists per 100 possessions last season, Ball checked in behind only Nikola Jokiฤ in a stat called "assist effective field-goal percentage," which measures how efficiently teammates converted on Ball's setups.
That means he generated an exceptionally high share of easy and open scoring opportunities. Anthony Edwards is going to have a blast this season.
5. Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons
26 of 30
Career Stats: 2,164 Assists, 8.0 APG
2025-26 Stats: 634 Assists, 9.9 APG
The Detroit Pistons went out and got a whole bunch of shooting this past offseason, apparently convinced that more spacing is all it'll take to get their offense up to championship standards.
Critics (raises hand) might argue additional playmaking was the real need, to which the Pistons might reply: "We have Cade Cunningham, and he's enough."
Even with some pretty shoddy spacing last year, Cunningham ranked second only to Jokiฤ with 24.8 points per game created via assist. Surround him with a couple more reliable shot-makers, and it stands to reason the Pistons will score plenty.
Cunningham has averaged at least 9.1 dimes per game in each of the last two years and should be able to use his size, handle, patience and vision to make it three in a row.
4. Trae Young, Washington Wizards
27 of 30
Career Stats: 4,868 Assists, 9.8 APG
2025-26 Stats: 120 Assists, 8.0 APG
With three years averaging at least 10.0 assists per game and some of the best pick-and-roll timing anyone's ever seen, Trae Young grades out as one of the top setup artists of the past decade.
Normally, players with Young's relatively small stature are limited as passers. They get into the lane and can't see through or over the thicket of arms that closes in around them. Because he's such a threat to throw lobs and hit floaters, and because Young has a preternatural ability to map the floor ahead of time, he always finds a way to deliver the rock to an open teammate.
In 2024-25, Young's last healthy season, nobody generated more assists at the rim per 100 possessions.
3. Luka Donฤiฤ, Los Angeles Lakers
28 of 30
Career Stats: 4,230 Assists, 8.2 APG
2025-26 Stats: 530 Assists, 8.3 APG
Ball dominance defines Luka Donฤiฤ's offensive style, and he's basically spent his entire career in complete control of his team's possessions. That's why it's so interesting that he led all players (minimum 50 games) last season in secondary assists.
While it's true that Donฤiฤ racks up loads of conventional setups by making the pass that leads directly to a shot, his court mapping and anticipation skills also allow him to make the pass before the pass that creates a bucket.
Donฤiฤ has led the league in scoring twice, and he leverages the threat of his own offense better than almost anyone else. His individual matchup has to extend far up the floor in case Donฤiฤ goes to his patented step-back three, and every helper in the game shades in his direction. It's almost unfair that Donฤiฤ, using his size and vision, gets to take advantage of compromised defenders on almost every possession.
2. Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers
29 of 30
Career Stats: 2,974 Assists, 8.8 APG
2024-25 Stats: 673 Assists, 9.2 APG
When we last saw him healthy, Tyrese Haliburton was a win away from finishing out one of the most breathtaking offensive seasons in memory with a championship.
Hali's captaincy of the 2024-25 Indiana Pacers produced one of the more magical offensive runs in years. Leading a fast-paced attack with his daredevil shotmaking and brilliant vision, Haliburton put himself into rarified air as a floor general.
Plenty of players can rack up assists, but Haliburton's offensive style was infectious in the best way. It called the likes of Steve Nash to mind, a player who won MVPs because he was always craftily hunting for the best angles and passing windows.
If Haliburton is back to himself following a season spent rehabbing his torn Achilles, he'll slot in behind only Jokiฤ among the league's most captivating and transformative creators.
1. Nikola Jokiฤ, Denver Nuggets
30 of 30
Career Stats: 6,080 Assists, 7.5 APG
2025-26 Stats: 697 Assists, 10.7 APG
It's been years since there was any question whether Nikola Jokiฤ is the best big-man passer in NBA history. He's blown past the other candidatesโBill Walton, Pau Gasol, Arvydas Sabonis, Vlade Divacโin career assists and, visually, has a much more diverse and creative setup package than any of them.
Those guys provided good value on offense with their creation skills. Jokiฤ is different. He drives what is routinely the best offense in the league.
Last year's leader in assists per game, Jokiฤ's court mapping and vision are unsurpassed by any of his current peersโregardless of position. His soft hands, anticipation and size allow him to see angles and execute passes nobody else can. His outlets, handoffs and no-look dimes are all equally perfect.
No one exercises complete control of the on-court proceedings like Jokiฤ.
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