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
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).
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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.
