List of WNBA annual assists leaders

Last updated

In basketball, an assist is a pass to a teammate that directly leads to a score by field goal. [1] The Women's National Basketball Association's (WNBA) assist title is awarded to the player with the highest assists per game average in a given season.

Contents

Courtney Vandersloot holds the all-time record for assists per game (10.00) in a season, achieved in the 2020 season. She and Ticha Penicheiro have the most assists titles in a career, each with seven.

Key

^Denotes player who is still active in the NBA
*Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Not yet eligible for Hall of Fame consideration [a]
§1st time eligible for Hall of Fame in 2025
Player (X)Denotes the number of times the player had been the
assists leader up to and including that season
G Guard F Forward C Center

Annual leaders

SeasonPlayer Position [b] TeamGames
played
Total
assists
Assists
per game
References
1997 Teresa Weatherspoon *G New York Liberty 281736.18 [2]
1998 Ticha Penicheiro G Sacramento Monarchs 302247.47 [3]
1999 Ticha Penicheiro (2)G Sacramento Monarchs 322267.06 [4]
2000 Ticha Penicheiro (3)G Sacramento Monarchs 302367.87 [4]
2001 Ticha Penicheiro (4)G Sacramento Monarchs 231727.48 [4]
2002 Ticha Penicheiro (5)G Sacramento Monarchs 241928.00 [4]
2003 Ticha Penicheiro (6)G Sacramento Monarchs 342296.74 [4]
2004 Nikki Teasley G Los Angeles Sparks 342076.09 [5]
2005 Sue Bird *G Seattle Storm 301765.87 [6]
2006 Nikki Teasley (2)G Washington Mystics 341835.38 [5]
2007 Becky Hammon *G San Antonio Silver Stars 281405.00 [7]
2008 Lindsay Whalen *G Connecticut Sun 311665.35 [8]
2009 Sue Bird * (2)G Seattle Storm 311795.77 [6]
2010 Ticha Penicheiro (7)G Los Angeles Sparks 322206.88 [4]
2011 Lindsay Whalen * (2)G Minnesota Lynx 341995.85 [8]
2012 Lindsay Whalen * (3)G Minnesota Lynx 331785.39 [8]
2013 Danielle Robinson G San Antonio Silver Stars 251686.72 [9]
2014 Courtney Vandersloot ^G Chicago Sky 181015.61 [10]
2015 Candace Parker F Los Angeles Sparks 161006.25 [11]
2016 Sue Bird * (3)G Seattle Storm 341965.76 [6]
2017 Courtney Vandersloot ^ (2)G Chicago Sky 272188.07 [10]
2018 Courtney Vandersloot ^ (3)G Chicago Sky 302588.60 [10]
2019 Courtney Vandersloot ^ (4)G Chicago Sky 333009.09 [10]
2020 Courtney Vandersloot ^ (5)G Chicago Sky 2222010.00 [10]
2021 Courtney Vandersloot ^ (6)G Chicago Sky 322758.59 [10]
2022 Natasha Cloud ^G Washington Mystics 342397.03 [12]
2023 Courtney Vandersloot ^ (7)G New York Liberty 393148.05 [10]
2024 Caitlin Clark ^G Indiana Fever 403378.43 [13]

Multiple-time leaders

RankPlayerTeamTimes leaderYears
1 Ticha Penicheiro Sacramento Monarchs (6) / Los Angeles Sparks (1)7 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2010
Courtney Vandersloot Chicago Sky (6) / New York Liberty (1) 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023
3 Sue Bird Seattle Storm 3 2005, 2009, 2016
Lindsay Whalen Connecticut Sun (1) / Minnesota Lynx (2) 2008, 2011, 2012
5 Nikki Teasley Los Angeles Sparks (1) / Washington Mystics (1)2 2004, 2006

Notes

  1. A player is not eligible for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame until she has been fully retired for two calendar years.
  2. The player's primary position is listed.

See also

  1. "Basketball glossary". FIBA.com. Archived from the original on May 16, 2010. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
  2. "Teresa Weatherspoon Stats". Basketball Reference. Retrieved March 20, 2025.
  3. "Ticha Penicheiro Stats". Basketball Reference. Retrieved March 20, 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Ticha Penicheiro Stats". Basketball Reference. Retrieved March 20, 2025.
  5. 1 2 "Nikki Teasley Stats". Basketball Reference. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 "Sue Bird Stats". Basketball Reference. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
  7. "Becky Hammon Stats". Basketball Reference. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
  8. 1 2 3 "Lindsay Whalen Stats". Basketball Reference. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
  9. "Danielle Robinson Stats". Basketball Reference. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Courtney Vandersloot Stats". Basketball Reference. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
  11. "Candace Parker Stats". Basketball Reference. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
  12. "Natasha Cloud Stats". Basketball Reference. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
  13. "Caitlin Clark Stats". Basketball Reference. Retrieved March 31, 2025.