In 1991, Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers dished out 19 assists, grabbed 9 rebounds, and scored 7 points in a 112-106 win over Dallas at the Great Western Forum. The 19 assists moved Johnson into the top spot on the NBA’s all-time assist list, ahead of Oscar Robertson, with 9,898. Johnson finished his career with 10,141 assists, and currently ranks no.5 on the NBA All-Time Assists Leaders list. John Stockton of the Utah Jazz tops the list with 15,806 career assists.
The no.1 pick in the 1979 NBA draft, Johnson spent his entire 13 season NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers. One of the league’s premier point guards, Johnson was the star of the Showtime Lakers era. Johnson led the Lakers to five NBA championships in the 1980s and was named both league MVP and finals MVP 3x in his career. During the 1987 NBA Finals against the rival Celtics, Johnson nearly averaged a triple-double throughout the series. The Lakers beat the Celtics 4-2 behind Johnson’s averages of 26.2 points, 13 assists, and 8 rebounds per game. Johnson’s other accolades include 9x All-NBA First Team, 4x NBA assists leader, 2x NBA steals leader, Olympic Gold Medalist with the Dream Team, and 12x NBA All-Star. Johnson was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002 and his no.32 was retired by the Los Angeles Lakers.