Minnesota Timberwolves

StaTuesday: Wolves' Rubio and double-digit assists games

Published Jan. 17, 2017 11:59 a.m. ET

Dave Heller

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio is averaging 7.9 assists per game in 2016-17.

Ricky Rubio is on a roll lately.

The Minnesota Timberwolves' point guard has been handing out assists with regularity. In his last 17 games, Rubio has had 10 or more assists eight times.

This includes in each of the last four games, the fifth time in his career Rubio has had a streak of at least four games with 10 or more assists. That accounts for 33 percent of the number of times in franchise history a Timberwolves player has had a streak of four or more games with 10+ assists.

Before Rubio, no one had done it since Terrell Brandon in 1999. If Rubio can make it five straight when Minnesota plays San Antonio on Tuesday night it will be tied for the fourth-longest streak in team history and one off his career high.

Player	Dates	Games
Pooh Richardson	Dec. 22, 1990-Jan. 9, 1991	9
Michael Williams	Jan. 18-29, 1993	6
Ricky Rubio	Feb. 27-March 9, 2015	6
Pooh Richardson	March 8-17, 1990	5
Michael Williams	Dec. 12-19, 1992	4
Pooh Richardson	April 7-12, 1991	4
Pooh Richardson	Nov. 6-11, 1990	4
Pooh Richardson	Jan 29-Feb. 4, 1990	4
Ricky Rubio	Nov. 10-Nov. 15, 2013	4
Ricky Rubio	Jan. 21-Jan. 27, 2012	4
Ricky Rubio	Jan. 9-Jan. 15, 2017*	4
Ricky Rubio	Jan. 20-Jan. 27, 2016	4
Stephon Marbury	Feb. 15-21, 1999	4
Stephon Marbury	Dec. 10-14, 1996	4
Terrell Brandon	April 23-April 30, 1999	4

After a slow start in recording assists, as mentioned Rubio has come on strong as late. He now has 10 games this season with 10 or more assists, which is tied for 16th-most in a season in Minnesota history. Rubio has had 10+ assists in 15 or more games in a season in four of his first five years (excluding 2014-15, when he played in just 22 games -- but he still had nine such performances).

With half-a-season remaining, Rubio could reach 30 games with 10+ assists in a season for the second time in his career.

Player	Season	Games
Pooh Richardson	1990-91	38
Stephon Marbury	1997-98	31
Michael Williams	1992-93	31
Ricky Rubio	2015-16	30
Ricky Rubio	2013-14	29
Terrell Brandon	1999-00	26
Pooh Richardson	1991-92	24
Sam Cassell	2003-04	20
Pooh Richardson	1989-90	19
Stephon Marbury	1996-97	18
Terrell Brandon	2000-01	17
Michael Williams	1993-94	16
Ricky Rubio	2011-12	15
Ricky Rubio	2012-13	15
Terrell Brandon	1998-99	11
Terrell Brandon	2001-02	10
Troy Hudson	2002-03	10
Terry Porter	1995-96	10
Ricky Rubio	2016-17	10

Overall in his 314 career games, Rubio has 108 games with 10 or more assists, or more than one-third of all his games (34.4 percent).

Since the beginning of the 2011-12 season -- Rubio's rookie year -- he has the fifth-most 10+-assist games in the NBA.

Player	Games
Chris Paul	198
John Wall	183
Rajon Rondo	162
Russell Westbrook	125
Ricky Rubio	108

This season, only four players have 10+ assists in four or more consecutive games -- Rubio, James Harden, John Wall and Russell Westbrook, and only Harden and Westbrook have done it in at least five straight. Can Rubio join that even more exclusive club?

Dave Heller is the author of the upcoming book Ken Williams: A Slugger in Ruth's Shadow as well as Facing Ted Williams Players From the Golden Age of Baseball Recall the Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived and As Good As It Got: The 1944 St. Louis Browns