NBA Trends 2024: Assists Per Game, Offensive Rating Reach Highest Mark Ever

The NBA season has been filled with surprises and interesting storylines, including the improvement of young teams like Orlando, Houston, and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

As the 2023-24 NBA season approaches the midway point, let’s take a look at a few interesting trends around the league.

Key Highlights:

• NBA teams are averaging the most assists (26.4) in NBA history this season
• Offenses have been more efficient than ever, averaging an offensive rating of 115.7
• Effective field goal percentage (.546) & 3-point makes (12.9) are also at an all-time high

NBA teams are averaging the most assists (26.4) in NBA history this season

One of the most interesting trends to emerge this season has been the willingness of players to share the basketball.

NBA teams are sharing the basketball more than ever before and it’s led to assist numbers that haven’t been seen since the 1980s. Teams are averaging 26.4 assists per game in 2023-24, which amounts to 0.7 more assists per game than the next-highest season (1987-88) and a 4.3 percent increase from a year ago (25.3).

This is a relatively new trend, as only three of the top 15 seasons in assists per game have come over the past 25 years (since 1998).

Offenses have been more efficient than ever, averaging an offensive rating of 115.7

Recently, former NBA sharpshooter J.J. Redick ranted on his podcast about the different rule changes that have favored the defense. Despite these rule changes, offensive efficiency and shooting percentages continue to rise around the league.

In 2023-24, NBA teams are averaging 115.7 points per 100 possessions, which is approximately 0.9 points per 100 possessions better than the league’s all-time mark (114.8), which was set a year ago. In fact, the average NBA offense has improved by leaps and bounds over the past five years.

In 2018-19, the average NBA offense owned an offensive rating of 110.4. At the time, this set the league’s all-time mark for the best offensive season in NBA history. Since then, the NBA has bested that mark in every season, setting a new record on four different occasions and the numbers continue to rise.

That means over the past five years, the average NBA offense has become 4.8 percent more efficient during that span.

Effective field goal percentage (.546) & 3-pointers (12.9) are also at an all-time high

Offensive ratings are on the rise around the league thanks in large part to sky-high shooting percentages. Teams are shooting 12.7 more 3-pointers per game over the past 10 seasons, an increase of 57 percent.

Improved spacing has led to more drive-and-kick opportunities and better shooting efficiency both overall and from deep. Teams own an effective field goal percentage of .546, narrowly beating out last season for the best mark ever. NBA teams are also making more 3-pointers per 100 possessions (12.9) than ever before.

If you’re wondering why it’s harder than ever for NBA defenses to get stops, watch Redick’s explanation below.