Glossary / Assist Percentage (AST%)

What Is Assist Percentage (AST%)?

Assist Rate is the estimated percentage of team field goals that a player assisted when they were on the court. It measures how much of a team's made-basket production a player had a direct hand in setting up while they were on the floor.

Formula

AST% = 100 ×AST((MP / (Tm MP / 5)) × Tm FGM) − FGM
AST — The player's own assists
MP — Minutes played by the player
Tm MP, Tm FGM — The team's total minutes and made field goals over that same game or season
FGM — The player's own made field goals, subtracted out since a player can't assist their own basket

Worked Example

A player has 6 assists and 5 made field goals in 32 minutes, on a team that makes 40 field goals over 240 total team minutes.
AST% = 100 × 6 / (((32 / 48) × 40) − 5)
AST% = 100 × 6 / (26.7 − 5)
AST% ≈ 27.6%

Typical AST% by Position

AST% varies a lot by position, so "good" depends on who you're comparing against. Anything above the average for a player's own position is a reasonable bar. Minutes-weighted averages, 2025-26 season, min. 20 GP.

PG
27.1%
SG
15.0%
SF
14.6%
PF
12.7%
C
12.4%
AST% Leaders

Top 5 in the NBA this season, min. 20 games played.

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AST% FAQ

What is a good Assist Percentage by position?

AST% varies quite a bit between positions. Minutes-weighted averages this season: PG 27.1%, SG 15.0%, SF 14.6%, PF 12.7%, C 12.4%. Anything above the average for a player's own position is a reasonable bar for "good."

Does Assist % account for gravity or off-ball playmaking?

No. Assist percentage is not a tell-all stat for playmaking. It doesn't quantify other ways a player creates offense, like gravity from off-ball shooting or the advantages created by a drive that ends in a pass two steps removed from the assist itself.

Why can a high-usage scorer have a lower AST% than a pass-first guard with fewer total assists?

AST% is measured against opportunity, not just the raw assist count. A pass-first guard who plays heavy minutes and touches the ball on almost every possession has far more chances to rack up assists relative to their team's made baskets than a high-usage scorer who spends most of their possessions shooting instead of passing, even if the scorer's raw assist total looks similar or higher.

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See It Live

Every player's AST% this season is on the Player Stats page, alongside shooting splits, shot zones, and role-adjusted efficiency.

Related Stats

Often discussed alongside AST%: USG%, TS%, REB%.

See how AST% compares against a player's specific role on Role Stats, or browse the rest of the Glossary for more stat breakdowns.