This season, Jamal Murray’s 127 assists to Nikola Jokić make them the top passer-and-scorer combination.
Nikola Jokić leads the league with a career-high 10.3 assists per game.
But the player who’s been assisted the most by a single teammate this season is … Nikola Jokić.
Though the three-time Kia MVP has missed 16 games, he’s still been assisted 16 more times by Jamal Murray (127) than any other player has been assisted by a single teammate. Of course, it hasn’t been a one-way relationship, with Jokić assisting Murray 101 times.
That’s fourth on the list of the most assists from one player to a single teammate …
1. Total assists from one to another
Most assists, player to single teammate, 2025-26
Team
Scorer
Passer
AST
MIN
Per 36
DEN
Nikola Jokić
Jamal Murray
127
1,212
3.8
DET
Jalen Duren
Cade Cunningham
111
1,168
3.4
ATL
Nickeil Alexander-Walker
Jalen Johnson
107
1,515
2.5
DEN
Jamal Murray
Nikola Jokić
101
1,212
3.0
CHA
Miles Bridges
LaMelo Ball
100
965
3.7
IND
Pascal Siakam
Andrew Nembhard
98
1,099
3.2
BKN
Michael Porter Jr.
Nic Claxton
92
1,192
2.8
DET
Duncan Robinson
Cade Cunningham
90
1,225
2.6
PHI
Joel Embiid
Tyrese Maxey
90
838
3.9
ATL
Jalen Johnson
Dyson Daniels
89
1,531
2.1
LAL
Deandre Ayton
Luka Dončić
89
1,019
3.1
SAS
Victor Wembanyama
Stephon Castle
87
912
3.4
Through March 4, 2026
Murray has averaged 6.6 minutes of possession, seventh most in the league and the highest rate of his career. He’s also playing his best offense in his nine seasons, registering career-high marks for points per game (25.7), assists per game (7.3) and true shooting percentage (61.9%). His assist/turnover ratio (3.01) is the second-best mark of his career.
Murray and Jokić have been building chemistry for nine seasons and while Jokić is one of the best passers in NBA history, he’s also one of the easiest guys to pass to. He’s huge, has great hands and doesn’t need to be right at the basket to shoot at a high percentage.
That doesn’t mean that Murray can’t make some advanced passes …
This is the sixth season in which Murray and Jokić have each had at least 100 assists to each other. But their 6.8 assists to each other per 36 minutes on the floor together is the most they’ve averaged in their nine seasons together with the Nuggets.
Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokić assists to each other
Season
MIN
JM -> NJ
NJ -> JM
TOTAL
Per 36
2016-17
720
28
35
63
3.2
2017-18
1,912
100
85
185
3.5
2018-19
1,859
123
147
270
5.2
2019-20
1,619
116
129
245
5.4
2020-21
1,363
92
94
186
4.9
2022-23
1,521
152
107
259
6.1
2023-24
1,418
151
110
261
6.6
2024-25
1,619
130
116
246
5.5
2025-26
1,212
127
101
228
6.8
MIN = Minutes on the floor together
Per 36 = Assists per 36 minutes on the floor together
Through March 4, 2026
The Nuggets have the league’s No. 1 offense (120.3 points scored per 100 possessions), but as great as the Murray-Jokić combination has been, the Nuggets’ season has been a little disappointing (mostly because of the other end of the floor), and they haven’t won two straight games since January.
They’ll go for a second straight win on Thursday when they host the Lakers with fourth place in the Western Conference on the line (10 p.m. ET, Prime Video).
2. Per-minute leaders
Tyrese Maxey (left) and Joel Embiid have solid passer-scorer stats this season despite not playing together often.
Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid haven’t played as many minutes together as the Sixers would like, but they’ve been a potent combination when they’ve shared the floor. Maxey’s 90 total assists to Embiid average out to 3.9 per 36 minutes on the floor together, the highest rate among 98 combinations where one player has at least 50 assists to the other …
Most assists per 36 minutes on the floor together, 2025-26
Team
Scorer
Passer
AST
MIN
Per 36
PHI
Joel Embiid
Tyrese Maxey
90
838
3.9
DEN
Nikola Jokić
Jamal Murray
127
1,212
3.8
CHA
Miles Bridges
LaMelo Ball
100
965
3.7
GSW
Stephen Curry
Draymond Green
84
827
3.7
CHI
Nikola Vučević
Josh Giddey
80
792
3.6
UTA
Lauri Markkanen
Isaiah Collier
54
544
3.6
LAL
Jaxson Hayes
Luka Dončić
52
542
3.5
SAS
Victor Wembanyama
Stephon Castle
87
912
3.4
DET
Jalen Duren
Cade Cunningham
111
1,168
3.4
UTA
Lauri Markkanen
Keyonte George
83
891
3.4
SAC
Maxime Raynaud
Russell Westbrook
74
803
3.3
MIL
Bobby Portis
Kevin Porter Jr.
51
566
3.2
MIN = Minutes on the floor together
Per 36 = Assists per 36 minutes on the floor together
Through March 4, 2026
Maxey certainly isn’t the best (or most willing) passer in the league. But his shot has to be respected, he can blow by any defender, he can draw help and find teammates for easy buckets …
3. Two-way street
Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun have been more than willing to look for each other as the passer or scorer.
Murray and Jokić are the only pair of teammates with at least 100 assists to each other. But there are six other combinations with at least 50 assists to each other…
Combinations with 50+ assists to each other
Team
Player 1
Player 2
1 -> 2
2 -> 1
TOTAL
Per 36
DEN
Jamal Murray
Nikola Jokić
127
101
228
6.8
HOU
Alperen Sengun
Kevin Durant
80
63
143
4.1
TOR
Immanuel Quickley
Brandon Ingram
85
51
136
3.6
ATL
Dyson Daniels
Jalen Johnson
89
60
149
3.5
MIN
Julius Randle
Donte DiVincenzo
67
61
128
3.2
HOU
Alperen Sengun
Amen Thompson
70
53
123
3.1
SAC
DeMar DeRozan
Russell Westbrook
54
50
104
2.7
1 -> 2, 2 -> 1 = Assists from Player 1 to Player 2 and vice versa
Per 36 = Total assists per 36 minutes on the floor together
Through March 4, 2026
While Murray and Jokić have been together for nine years now, three of those combinations (Durant and Sengun, Ingram and Quickley, DeRozan and Westbrook) had never played together before this season.
Durant and Sengun don’t run nearly as many pick-and-rolls per 100 possessions (15.0) as Murray and Jokić (26.8), and their assists are more likely to come off isolations where they draw help. But they do have some solid, two-man chemistry…
The Rockets’ offense ranks just 19th since Jan. 1, but they’ve won seven of their last 10 games and sit in third place in the Western Conference.
Their toughest remaining stretch of schedule – five games in seven days, including trips to San Antonio and Denver – begins Thursday with a visit from the Warriors (7:30 p.m. ET, Prime Video).
* * *
John Schuhmann has covered the NBA for more than 20 years. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Bluesky.