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.

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

Season Player Position[b] Team Games
played
Total
assists
Assists
per game
References
1997 Teresa Weatherspoon* G New York Liberty 28 173 6.18 [2]
1998 Ticha Penicheiro G Sacramento Monarchs 30 224 7.47 [3]
1999 Ticha Penicheiro (2) G Sacramento Monarchs 32 226 7.06 [4]
2000 Ticha Penicheiro (3) G Sacramento Monarchs 30 236 7.87 [4]
2001 Ticha Penicheiro (4) G Sacramento Monarchs 23 172 7.48 [4]
2002 Ticha Penicheiro (5) G Sacramento Monarchs 24 192 8.00 [4]
2003 Ticha Penicheiro (6) G Sacramento Monarchs 34 229 6.74 [4]
2004 Nikki Teasley G Los Angeles Sparks 34 207 6.09 [5]
2005 Sue Bird§ G Seattle Storm 30 176 5.87 [6]
2006 Nikki Teasley (2) G Washington Mystics 34 183 5.38 [5]
2007 Becky Hammon* G San Antonio Silver Stars 28 140 5.00 [7]
2008 Lindsay Whalen* G Connecticut Sun 31 166 5.35 [8]
2009 Sue Bird§ (2) G Seattle Storm 31 179 5.77 [6]
2010 Ticha Penicheiro (7) G Los Angeles Sparks 32 220 6.88 [4]
2011 Lindsay Whalen* (2) G Minnesota Lynx 34 199 5.85 [8]
2012 Lindsay Whalen* (3) G Minnesota Lynx 33 178 5.39 [8]
2013 Danielle Robinson G San Antonio Silver Stars 25 168 6.72 [9]
2014 Courtney Vandersloot^ G Chicago Sky 18 101 5.61 [10]
2015 Candace Parker F Los Angeles Sparks 16 100 6.25 [11]
2016 Sue Bird§ (3) G Seattle Storm 34 196 5.76 [6]
2017 Courtney Vandersloot^ (2) G Chicago Sky 27 218 8.07 [10]
2018 Courtney Vandersloot^ (3) G Chicago Sky 30 258 8.60 [10]
2019 Courtney Vandersloot^ (4) G Chicago Sky 33 300 9.09 [10]
2020 Courtney Vandersloot^ (5) G Chicago Sky 22 220 10.00 [10]
2021 Courtney Vandersloot^ (6) G Chicago Sky 32 275 8.59 [10]
2022 Natasha Cloud^ G Washington Mystics 34 239 7.03 [12]
2023 Courtney Vandersloot^ (7) G New York Liberty 39 314 8.05 [10]
2024 Caitlin Clark^ G Indiana Fever 40 337 8.43 [13]

Multiple-time leaders

Rank Player Team Times leader Years
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. ^ a b c d e f "Ticha Penicheiro Stats". Basketball Reference. Retrieved March 20, 2025.
  5. ^ a b "Nikki Teasley Stats". Basketball Reference. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
  6. ^ a b c "Sue Bird Stats". Basketball Reference. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
  7. ^ "Becky Hammon Stats". Basketball Reference. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
  8. ^ a b c "Lindsay Whalen Stats". Basketball Reference. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
  9. ^ "Danielle Robinson Stats". Basketball Reference. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g "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.
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