LOS ANGELES -- LeBron James likes to pass the ball.

Legend has it he developed his appreciation for the pass as a 9-year-old playing for the Summit Lake Hornets in a rec basketball league in Akron, Ohio. He fed a diminutive teammate named Sonny Spoon by rolling the rock his way. It was the only way the little guy could control the ball without being knocked over. Spoon scooped up the delivery, put the ball in the hoop and James relished in Spoon's score more than if it were his own.

Decades later, as he has climbed into the top five on the NBA's all-time scoring list and made the defining play of his illustrious career with a chase-down block in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals, his passing remains as important of a skill as ever.

Now in his 17th season, James has shifted from small forward to point guard. And as the Los Angeles Lakers have stacked up wins, so too has James racked up assists.

James is averaging a league-leading 11.1 assists, hitting double digits in eight of Los Angeles' first 11 games.

Should he maintain his lead, it would be the first assist title of James' career. Can he keep it up?

"I don't know," James said recently. "That's never been a goal of mine. ... The assist has always been my favorite because it gives my teammates an opportunity to score. And that's what's always mattered to me."

Individual statistics don't matter much to James these days -- earlier this month he even wore a hat embroidered with a patch that read "awards mean nothing" to a game in Dallas -- but his ability to continue to imprint control on the game as he enters his mid-30s does matter.

If James keeps dishing dimes at this rate, he would obliterate the record of the best assist average for a player in his 17th season or later (John Stockton currently holds the mark with 8.7 assists per game in 2000-01).

"He's going to make the right play every time and he delivers the ball on time, on target everywhere or just about everywhere he throws it -- to the 3-point line or lobs at the rim or back cuts or whatever," Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. "He's just one of the best passers I've been around."

LeBron James is averaging double-digit assists for the first time in his 17-year career this season. Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty

James' first of a dozen dimes Wednesday night came just seven seconds into a 120-94 win against the Golden State Warriors, a pinpoint lob sent from beyond the 3-point to JaVale McGee, who readily deposited it into the basket.

James' Lakers teammates recognize that they'd better be alert at all times when sharing the court with him.

"Playing with LeBron, he's the center of attention at all times," Kyle Kuzma said. "Everybody's looking at him, so sometimes when guys come here, they're not really used to having wide-open shots, and that's something that he supplies."

Lakers nearly perfect off LeBron's passes Wednesday night, LeBron James' teammates made 12 of 13 shots off his passes, the highest percentage off his passes since he joined the Lakers. The only player to miss was Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (0-for-1). PLAYER FG* Kyle Kuzma 4-4 JaVale McGee 3-3 Jared Dudley 2-2 Avery Bradley 1-1 Danny Green 1-1 Dwight Howard 1-1 * including five 3-PT FG

Not all open shots are equal. Just like the defense pays extra attention to James, so too do the fans. When James provides an open look, it can feel as if every eye in the arena turns toward the shooter.

"My rookie year it was a lot of pressure," said Quinn Cook, now on his second stint alongside James after playing with him in Cleveland during the 2015 preseason. "I was like, 'Wow, LeBron is passing me the ball. I got to make it.' But I'm kind of over that phase now. He puts us in great positions to be successful and you just want to shoot the ball with confidence."

Avery Bradley gets the impression that some of the passes James makes are only possible because of the four-time MVP's uncanny court vision.

"I was joking the other day with one of the guys on the bench," Bradley recalled. "I said, when I watch film, and a coach says, 'You should have seen this pass ...' He sees that during the game in real time. Just incredible."