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In 2002, LeBron James watches his team from the bench last Friday with his friend Dru Joyce Jr. at his left. Joyce is now German's all-time leader in assists.

(bill kennedy)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - When it comes to being the most prolific basketball passer ever to come from Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, LeBron James has a challenger.

James' close friend and former high school teammate Dru Joyce III is now the all-time leader in assists for Germany's top professional league, Beko BBL.

Joyce broke the league's old record of 1,318 career assists on Jan. 15, and in eight total seasons in Germany has amassed 1,365 assists, according to data available on various websites that track European professional leagues.

Joyce, 31, is also the University of Akron's all-time assists leader, compiling 503 from 2004-07 for the Zips. And, of course, as one of James' best friends and his point guard at St. V-St. M, Joyce won three Ohio high school championships.

But for Joyce, owning the German assists record is uniquely special for him because of the quirks and difficulties of playing in Europe. Players rarely sign contracts longer than one or two seasons, and they often bounce from league to league, country to country, each year.

Joyce has played in Germany for all but one of his nine pro seasons. His current team, s. Oliver, is in Wurzburg, Germany, hometown to NBA star Dirk Nowitzki.

For comparison's sake, Joyce's high school and college teammate, Romeo Travis, has played in Germany, Israel, the Philippines, France, Spain, Croatia, Ukraine, and Russia.

"I left home, went to a foreign country, and to carve out a career, there's so many guys want the jobs we have, there are more players than there are opportunities," Joyce said in a phone interview with cleveland.com. "The record is special to me. Playing at a top level, to be recognized as one of better players in the country, and to have established this record is a huge deal. It ranks up there with just about everything I have accomplished on the court, really special."

James is 20th in NBA history and third among active players with 6,677 assists in 13 seasons, prior to the Cavaliers' home game Friday against Washington. He has more assists than anyone to play the forward position.

Leaving aside James' place as one of the greatest to ever play basketball -- anywhere -- and returning to a discussion about Joyce, the German record he owns was captured in considerably fewer games than James has played.

Joyce has never played more than 47 games in any BBL season, whereas the NBA regular-season is 82 games.

In Europe, teams play the schedule within their own country, and depending on how many games they win they may move on to the Euroleague or Eurocup (think NCAA tournament or NIT after a regular season in college).

Joyce is averaging 6.87 assists to go with 11.7 points in 23 games for s. Oliver this season.

Joyce was also always one of the smaller players on the court. Whereas James (6-8, No. 1 overall pick in 2003 NBA draft) and Travis (6-7, MAC player of the year at Akron) stood out, the 6-foot Joyce had to grind his way to where he is now.

But Joyce said he and James are alike in at least one way - their affinity for sharing the ball.

"We're definitely similar in that fashion of the game," Joyce said. "It's just how we learned the game as young kids. We learned the importance of creating easy opportunities for teammates and always trying to make your teammates better."

James, who honored Joyce's record via Instagram when it happened, said last month that he and Joyce are "still best friends to this day.

"And to see him go down as the all-time assists leader in (BBL) history in Germany is a huge feat for him," James said. "As a brother of mine, I commend him. It's just special times to be a kid growing up in Akron Ohio."

Joyce's father, famous St. Vincent-St. Mary coach Dru Joyce, II, said his son needed five assists the night of Jan. 15 to break the record. Joyce, II said his son wasn't aware he near the milestone until just before the game, and got word to his dad that the game could be a special one.

The record-breaking assist came at the end of the opening period, and the s. Oliver home crowd honored Joyce during the break with a standing ovation.

"Thank God for computers and the Internet," said Joyce, II, who said he's flown to Germany three times to see his son play. "We're able to stream the games and watch him play. We played the same day, but I was able to watch (him break the record) on delay."

Travis, a former MVP in Israel and the Philippines who's playing this season for Le Mans Sarthe Basket in France, said he was following the game on Twitter when Joyce broke the record.

"It's a huge accomplishment," Travis said. "For him to have that kind of stability to play in the same country is unprecedented."