San Antonio Spurs: Top 5 assists leaders in franchise history
By Rob Wolkenbrod
![SAN ANTONIO, TX - MAY 1: Tony Parker #9 of the San Antonio Spurs drives against the Houston Rockets in Game One of the Western Conference Semifinals of the 2017 NBA Playoffs on May 1, 2017 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photos by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) SAN ANTONIO, TX - MAY 1: Tony Parker #9 of the San Antonio Spurs drives against the Houston Rockets in Game One of the Western Conference Semifinals of the 2017 NBA Playoffs on May 1, 2017 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photos by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/https-3A-2F-2Fairalamo-com-2Fwp-content-2Fuploads-2Fgetty-images-2F2017-2F07-2F676277540-houston-rockets-v-san-antonio-spurs-game-one-jpg-850x560-ce1335449d373841aac1aa9bf09e9917.jpg)
The San Antonio Spurs have a long history, but who are the top five assist leaders in the franchise’s time in professional basketball?
The San Antonio Spurs’ history of success built up over the past two decades, with head coach Gregg Popovich as the leading man. Under his watch, there have been five NBA championships won, starting in 1999 and the most recent one, in 2014.
On the court, the Spurs have had quality point guards running the offense. That even goes before the Popovich era, with the David Robinson-led teams of the early and mid-1990’s teams that stayed competitive in the Western Conference. Memorable names were part of these productive teams who go down, positively, in franchise history.
Spurs players have racked up plenty of assists at not only point guard, but other positions. Who makes the list on the top five for assists in franchise history?
No. 5 is Manu Ginobili. Through 15 seasons, he has 3,838 assists, building this number as an occasional distributor. Otherwise, he mostly played shooting guard in the starting lineup and as a sixth man.
Ginobili will enter his 16th season with the Spurs, and will likely move up one spot in the list. That’s due to Johnny Moore being ranked No. 4, with 3,865 career assists.
Moore led the way at point guard for the Spurs in the 1980’s. This saw him put up five years of 9-plus assists per season from 1981-86.
Third on the list is a future Pro Basketball Hall of Famer, Tim Duncan. He finished his NBA career with 4,225 assists. Duncan never averaged more than 3.9 assists in a season, but built this up through 19 years in the NBA.
Avery Johnson takes the second spot on the all-time assist leader list in Spurs history. He had 4,474 in his three stints in San Antonio, which were spent across 10 seasons.
Next: Top 10 first-round picks in Spurs history
Tony Parker tops the list for the Spurs, as he has 6,634 career assists, which is over 2,000 more than Johnson. With time left in Parker’s NBA career, he should continue to blow the doors off this franchise-leading number.