The ideal players in fantasy basketball excel in more than one category, and few positions can produce value quite like a guard that can both score and collect assists at a high level. In this article, we will look at some of the top guards based on assists per game. Many of these players are also elite scorers but would not carry nearly the same value without their ability to get teammates involved. These players' sense for playmaking is a major factor in being able to deliver top-notch production on an almost entirely consistent basis, as they can accumulate numbers even while their shot is struggling.
Trae Young leads the NBA this season with an average of 11.5 assists per game. This stat becomes even more impressive when one considers that he is not accompanied by any All-Star teammates, and that his squad's second-highest scorer, Jalen Johnson, has been sidelined for over a month. Despite these factors, Young's team-high of 24.0 points per game, combined with his ability to help his teammates get involved is just about the only reason that the Hawks have a hold on eighth place in the East. Young also shot under 40 percent from the field through his first 25 games this season, but he averaged 12.2 assists during that span to ensure that what he was lacking in his shooting efficiency would be made up by the easy buckets he could provide for his teammates.
Cade Cunningham averages 9.5 assists per game, which
The ideal players in fantasy basketball excel in more than one category, and few positions can produce value quite like a guard that can both score and collect assists at a high level. In this article, we will look at some of the top guards based on assists per game. Many of these players are also elite scorers but would not carry nearly the same value without their ability to get teammates involved. These players' sense for playmaking is a major factor in being able to deliver top-notch production on an almost entirely consistent basis, as they can accumulate numbers even while their shot is struggling.
Trae Young leads the NBA this season with an average of 11.5 assists per game. This stat becomes even more impressive when one considers that he is not accompanied by any All-Star teammates, and that his squad's second-highest scorer, Jalen Johnson, has been sidelined for over a month. Despite these factors, Young's team-high of 24.0 points per game, combined with his ability to help his teammates get involved is just about the only reason that the Hawks have a hold on eighth place in the East. Young also shot under 40 percent from the field through his first 25 games this season, but he averaged 12.2 assists during that span to ensure that what he was lacking in his shooting efficiency would be made up by the easy buckets he could provide for his teammates.
Cade Cunningham averages 9.5 assists per game, which ranks second among guards this season. Like Young, he is another one of the few players on this list without any All-Star teammates. However, Cunningham is flanked by a couple of shooters in Tim Hardaway (37.5 percent from long range), and Malik Beasley (42.3 percent from long range), who do a good job of finishing the play when he drives and kicks to the three-point line. Cunningham also has good support from his big man, Jalen Duren, who is quite a reliable finisher in the paint. Cunningham is averaging career highs in points, rebounds and assists per game and is among this season's top points league producers. His size advantage at the position surely helps him see the floor and execute passes, meaning he does not have to rely as much on explosiveness to find a lane, and that he should be a dominant force from the point for years to come.
Already well established as one of the league's best and most entertaining passers, Tyrese Haliburton ranks third in the NBA among guards with 8.7 assists per game. He also has great size for the position and like the previous two players highlighted, he also generates most of his assists by driving to the basket and drawing the defense, before dropping off to a nearby big, or kicking it to a shooter. On the other hand, Haliburton stands out as one of the best in the league at pushing the pace and sets his teammates up for countless easy finishes in transition. Haliburton's ability to generate so much offense in transition provides a solid foundation for his overall production, as those are points and assists that can be accumulated even when just about every other aspect of the game might be struggling.
The only potentially surprising aspect of James Harden being on this list is that he is doing it in his 16th NBA season. Once a player known mostly for his scoring, Harden did a great job in evolving his game to become one of the league's top playmakers. He averaged 4.9 assists per game through his first seven seasons in the NBA, but he is averaging 9.3 assists per game from 2016-17 to the present day. Harden is a master at drawing in defenders when driving to the paint, but he even excels at shifting the defense from the outside, as he is such a devastating one-on-one player and shooter that opponents are inclined to cheat towards him just about anywhere on the court. Harden's evolution into a great passer has been huge for his fantasy value, especially helping prop him up while shooting 38.8 percent from the field through his first 20 games this season.
Speaking of veteran players still making an impact, Chris Paul deserves a lot of credit for the fact that in his 20th NBA season, he ranks seventh in the league with 8.1 assists per game. Paul is producing more assists per game than many of the league's most elite guards, and he is doing so in just 29.0 minutes per game. Paul moved up to second on the all-time assists leaderboard earlier this season and has been a major asset for an up-and-coming Spurs squad. Not to mention, the vet was likely an easy grab late in fantasy drafts this season, maybe even off the waiver wire in some leagues, yet he has produced more fantasy points than guys like Jalen Duren, Anfernee Simons, and Mikal Bridges, standing as a perfect testament to the fact that consistent playmaking is a highly valuable factor for fantasy managers to consider.
Jalen Brunson has been such a dominant individual scorer over the last couple of seasons that it is easy to overlook his skill as a playmaker. He ranks eighth in the league with 7.4 assists per game, which is also a career high, up from his previous career high of 6.7 assists per game last season. Of course, part of the explanation for the jump is the benefit of playing with an elite scorer like Karl-Anthony Towns, but Brunson still deserves a ton of credit for his ability to penetrate and break down the defense to create easy openings. When combining his scoring and shooting efficiency with his playmaking, Brunson becomes one of the most valuable fantasy players in the league. Like Harden, Brunson could continue to improve on his profile as a playmaker, which would help his ability to remain a highly valuable player for years to come, even as father time creeps up on the 28-year-old.
At first glance, Josh Giddey might not jump off the page as a name to be grouped with the above-mentioned players, but the fourth-year guard continues to build his case as a top-tier playmaker in the league. Despite this being his debut season with a new squad, Giddey has managed to continue to thrive as a pass-first point guard that knows how to work the game in the halfcourt, as well as in transition. He ranks 12th in the league (10th among guards) in assists per game and is averaging 6.0 assists per game for his career. Giddey does not score at the same level as the league's top-tier guards, but his ability to contribute well across the stat sheet (12.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.1 steals this season) makes him a fantasy machine, with more fantasy points than guys like Kyrie Irving, DeMar DeRozan, and Jalen Green. Giddey's style of play is calculated and relies less on flash than many top playmakers, while his 6-foot-8 frame allows him a great size advantage at the position.
