Rajon Rondo held the ball and halted the Pelicans’ offense while directing Cheick Diallo into post position. Once Diallo finally posted up, Rondo bounced a pass into Diallo, who had to move away from the basket to grab the ball. Diallo dribbled twice then hit a turnaround half-hook shot.
Assist No. 25.
Rondo’s 25 assists in New Orleans’ 128-113 win over the Nets on Wednesday were the most in an NBA game since Jason Kidd in 1996. Sure, Rondo chases some assists. Sure, passes are sometimes questionably credited as assists league-wide.
This is still a magnificent accomplishment.
Here are the highest-assist games since 1963-64, as far back as Basketball-Reference records go:
Rondo recorded his 25 assists in 30:18 of playing time, far less than anyone else on the above chart. Only John Lucas (24 assists in 28 minutes during a 1984 Spurs-Nuggets game) ever neared that combination.
We’ll see whether all 25 of Rondo’s assists hold up, but this almost certainly will. Rondo now has as many 20-assist games as all other active players combined:
