Assists per game: Magic Johnson, 13.1
Magic Johnson is arguably the greatest point guard of all time and you do not get that title if you are not one of the best passers in league history. The Los Angeles Lakers currently have one of the best passers in league history and even he could not come close to breaking Magic Johnson’s record for assists per game in a season.
LeBron James finished in the top 10 in Lakers history in assists per game with 10.2 assists per game during the 2019-20 season; he led the league in assists for the first time in his entire career. The nine entries ahead of LeBron James in the top 10 were all Magic Johnson.
The absolute peak was in the 1983-1984 season when Magic averaged over a baker’s dozen assists per game. It was the second time that Magic led the league in assists and is one of the greatest passing seasons of all time.
Magic’s 1983-84 season ranks eighth all time. Kevin Porter and Isiah Thomas both have one season ahead of Magic while John Stockton has the other four instances. No surprise there.
Nobody has even come close to matching Magic’s numbers in the modern NBA. The best season by an active player belongs to Rajon Rondo, who averaged 11.7 assists per game during the 2011-12 season.
Even one of the leauge’s most prolific passers in James Harden has not been able to come close to tallying 13.1 assits per game. With the isolation nature of today’s game, there might not be a single player in the league that reaches 13 again, let alone someone on the Lakers.