Trae Young leads the 2026-27 preseason in assists at 7.5 a game

Trae Young finished the 2026-27 preseason as the NBA’s assists leader, setting up 7.5 baskets a game across four appearances in his first exhibition run with the Washington Wizards. Young’s shot never came around in October, so the passing was the part of his game that traveled, and it gives Washington a clear picture of how its offense will run when the games count.

Young dished out 30 assists in 24.1 minutes a night. He had four in a 111-109 win at the Knicks on Thursday, October 8, eight in the 114-108 overtime win over Detroit two nights later, and a preseason-best 11 against Brooklyn on Monday, October 12, though the Nets won that one 131-122 and he also gave the ball away eight times. He closed with seven in Friday’s 107-106 loss at New Orleans. He shot 7 of 27 from the field, scored 8.8 points a game and committed 20 turnovers, the cost of carrying the ball for a new group.

The preseason assists top 10

The list counts all 67 preseason games on the WhyNBA scoreboard, through Friday, October 16. A player needs at least three appearances to qualify. APG is assists per game, Total is every assist across the preseason, TOV is total turnovers, and MPG is minutes per game.

Mitchell shares 10th place at 17 assists in three games with Craig Porter Jr., Darius Garland, Cade Cunningham and Tre Jones. Ball’s 23 in four games works out to 5.75, a hair behind Tyus Jones.

Jokić’s triple-double and the biggest nights

Nikola Jokić missed the top spot by a tenth but handed out 37 assists, more than anyone, in only 21 minutes a game. His best night was a triple-double: 22 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in Denver’s 133-128 win over Chicago on Sunday, October 11. He finished with eight assists and 7-of-8 shooting in the 121-106 win over the Lakers on Friday.

Young’s 11 against Brooklyn tied Payton Pritchard for the best single game; Pritchard reached it in Boston’s 114-93 win over Charlotte on Wednesday, October 14. Six more players had 10, including Jokić, Green in the 128-118 win over Portland on Friday, and Porter, who did it in just 16 minutes against Boston.

The cleanest passer was Tyus Jones, with 29 assists against five turnovers off the Denver bench. Green was close behind at 25 to six. Two frontcourt stars made the top three, a reminder that Antetokounmpo now runs plenty of Miami’s offense, while Green kept doing the same job for Golden State.

Preseason minutes were short and uneven, so per-game numbers flatter players who saw extended run late in games. Young and Jokić did their work as starters, which makes their numbers the likeliest to carry into the season.

What comes next

Young and the Wizards host the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday, October 21 at 7 p.m. ET (Game Center). Jokić and the Nuggets open at Oklahoma City on Thursday, October 22 at 9:30 p.m. ET (Game Center). The full numbers live on the league leaders and player stats pages, which switch to regular-season totals once the games count.