Stats explained · AST%
Assist percentage (AST%)
Assist totals favour players with many minutes on fast teams. Assist percentage asks a sharper question: of the baskets his teammates made while he was out there, how many did he set up?
The formula
NBA.com's formula, counted only while the player is on the floor. His own field goals come off, because nobody can assist himself. For a whole team, AST% is assists ÷ field goals made.
Worked example
Guy Rodgers, 2 March 1962
20 assists, on the floor all 48 minutes. The Warriors made 63 field goals, 1 of them his1.
20 ÷ (63 − 1) = 20 ÷ 62 = 32.3%
Wilt Chamberlain, the same game
2 assists in all 48 minutes; 36 of the 63 field goals were his1.
2 ÷ (63 − 36) = 2 ÷ 27 = 7.4%
Both played every minute, so the whole team line counts: Rodgers set up almost a third of the baskets his teammates made, while Chamberlain scored them.
What it tells you
How much of the passing a player does, compared fairly across fast and slow teams and different minutes.
What it does not
How hard the passes were, or the pass before the assist: only the last pass before a basket counts2. It also depends on teammates who make their shots.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game (version of 13 August 2026), CC BY-SA 4.0 checked 21 October 2026
- Wikipedia: Assist (basketball) (version of 12 August 2026), CC BY-SA 4.0 checked 21 October 2026
Checked on 20 October 2026, unless a source has its own date. Wikipedia content is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; we take single numbers and facts from the versions linked above and say where a number is our own calculation. Spotted a mistake or a record that fell? Write to hello@boxscorestories.com.
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