10 Most Accurate Dime-Droppers in the NBA

Jesse DorseyDec 1, 2011

Most of the highlights we see over the course of an NBA season are rim-rattling dunks, last-second shots and buzzer-beaters, ferocious blocks and the occasional jaw-dropping pass.

However, with most of the plays in the NBA, a pass is what sets them up. Whether it results in an assist or not is another story, but it is almost always a single pass from the point guard, or just a gifted passer at another position that starts things off.

It gets the ball moving around the horn, makes the defense move, puts a play in motion and sometimes ends up in one of the most exciting plays in the game—an alley-oop.

The NBA's current crop of passers are as good as any throughout NBA history, and with more and more young passers coming into the game (Ricky Rubio, anyone?), we may be entering a golden age for the art of dropping dimes.

These, ladies and gentlemen, are your 10 best, most accurate passers in the NBA.

10. Andre Miller

1 of 10

Andre Miller, you ask? Surely I've gone mad.

Yes, Andre Miller is a good passer and a mighty fine point guard, but he averaged seven assists a game last year after dipping down around five the year before, clearly he's on the way toward being washed up...right?

Well, not necessarily. From watching games, it seems like Miller would be one of the biggest beneficiaries of an addition of a "second assist" to the stat sheet, much like hockey has.

Last year for the Blazers, Miller was quite often the guy passing to the guy who was getting an assist. He sets up plays like some of the best point guards in the league with no regard to stats whatsoever.

9. Stephen Curry

2 of 10

The ever-improving, lightning-quick point guard out of Davidson is turning into a little Steve Nash for the Warriors (with terrible defense and all. Hey-ooo!).

With his skinny frame, Curry dishes out bullets, often looking like he's just slinging the ball around the court, but it always ends up going right to the guy he's trying to get it to.

Curry is still growing as a point guard, and still turns the ball over a bit too much (although he's no Russell Westbrook), but he should be one of the best offensive point guards in the league here in two years or so.

8. John Wall

3 of 10

Honestly, it would have even made sense to include John Wall in this list before he played a single game in the NBA. If there was one thing you could absolutely tell about this guy before he laced up his shoes for the Wizards it's that he knew how to pass. He is to passing last year what Kenneth Faried is to rebounding this year.

Lo and behold, Wall reeled off a season that would have won him the Rookie of the Year Award had Blake Griffin not been considered a rookie, complete with just over eight assists a game and a crazy-high (for a rookie) assist percentage of 36 percent.

If it weren't for the number of turnovers he had last season, I would have to put him in the top five.

7. Jason Kidd

4 of 10

I heard it through the grapevine that wine ages like Jason Kidd (see what I did there?).

Kidd, at the ripe old age of 38, looked like the same player he was 10 years ago, so long as you ignore the fact that he's slower and you can hear his knees creak when he runs.

With the sixth-most assists this season, Kidd put up his 16th straight season in which he averaged at least eight assists. That's 16 out of 17 for those of you keeping track at home.

If he keeps up that rate he'll only need to play in about 530 more games to pass John Stockton for the all-time record. If he plays in every game this season and then in every game for the following six seasons, we'll be following that story.

Fine, I won't hold my breath that a 45-year-old Jason Kidd will continue to average eight dimes a game.

6. Dwyane Wade

5 of 10

The Miami Heat are blessed with brilliant passers, which basically means they don't need a point guard who can run the point (they might as well just pick up a defensive specialist). Dwyane Wade and LeBron James basically shared the point guard duties last season, and even Chris Bosh is a pretty good passer for a big man, plus they had the soft-handed Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Remind me again how they didn't win a title.

Oh, right, that whole fourth-quarter meltdown thing. I totally forgot.

Still, with Dwyane Wade as the second-best passer on their team they should have no problems at getting a shot to go back to the finals next season.

5. LeBron James

6 of 10

That other, other, other guy on the Miami Heat (after Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Dexter Pittman, of course) seems to have quite a handle on a basketball.

If the Heat decided to take the route of plunking LeBron James down in a point forward position, much like the Lakers did with Magic Johnson, the Heat would have absolutely no need for a point guard that even knows how to dribble. I guess that means I could be their point guard.

Giving LeBron the ball coming up the court on every possession would turn LeBron into possibly the leading assister in the NBA.

4. Deron Williams

7 of 10

It shows just how good the highest level of passers is in the NBA these days when you see a name like Deron Williams at No. 4.

If it weren't for the onset of Rajon Rondo over the past few years, Williams would still be in the top three, but Rondo's play has been too much to ignore.

Still, Williams is able to push the tempo of the game to one that he feels comfortable with, then he finds parts of the defense to take advantage of and puts the ball into the appropriate player's hands who could exploit that weakness.

3. Chris Paul

8 of 10

Chris Paul is the pinnacle of point guards in the NBA today. He's an eclectic mix of offense, defense and intangibles that would be able to lead any team to the playoffs so long as his teammates aren't completely useless.

When it comes to passing, Paul is great at setting up his offense, and due to the fact that he is so dangerous with the ball, with the ability to drive to the rim and pull up and shoot at any time, his defender must respect him, covering him while giving himself room to corral him should Paul take off; Paul can then direct his teammates where he wants them to go for a pass.

He seems like he knows what's going to happen on any given play as he's walking the ball up the court, with the only unknown being whether the ball is going to go through the hoop or not.

2. Rajon Rondo

9 of 10

Rajon Rondo's ability as a passer may be both hindered and helped by his inability to shoot the ball from more than 12 feet.

When Rondo takes the ball up the court, he's often given a good four-foot cushion by his defender, because there's very little chance that Rondo shoots the ball, which gives the defender more room to catch him if he breaks to the rim.

This helps Rondo in that it gives him more space and comfort to break down the defense and figure out who to pass the ball to.

However, it also bunches up the defense closer to the basket, basically putting them into "prevent" defense, making it harder to get the ball to a man streaking down toward the basket. Still, even with the defense more condensed than normal, Rondo is able to deliver passes with pinpoint precision.