Braden Smith Becomes Third Player in Purdue History to Reach 500 Career Assists

Purdue Boilermakers guard Braden Smith (3) passes around Northern Kentucky Norse guard Dan Gherezgher Jr. Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

Braden Smith Becomes Third Player in Purdue History to Reach 500 Career Assists

Originally posted on Purdue Boilermakers on SI
By Dustin Schutte | Last updated Nov 23, 2024 1:18 PM ET

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Purdue guard Braden Smith has become the third player in program history to reach 500 career assists. The junior eclipsed that mark in Saturday afternoon's game against Marshall.

Smith entered Saturday's contest needing just eight assists to hit the 500 mark. He hit that impressive achievement in the second of the game on a dish to fellow junior Trey Kaufman-Renn.

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Braden Smith now with 500 career assists, coming in his 80th game.

Third fastest to 500 assists in @B1GMBBall history. pic.twitter.com/zwjsUz2yWk
— Purdue Men's Basketball (@BoilerBall) November 23, 2024

The only other players on program history to surpass 500 career assists were Bruce Parkinson (690 assists) and Brian Walker (572 assists). It's quite an impressive achievement, especially for a junior.

Entering Saturday's game, Smith was averaging 9.4 assists per contest. That tally is tied for the second-best in college basketball.

Smith was selected as an All-Big Ten player and the Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year. We'll continue to monitor his assist count throughout the year.

This article first appeared on Purdue Boilermakers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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