傳球是籃球比賽關鍵組成的部分，成功的傳球需要敏捷、速度和對球、隊友及對手位置之深入了解。助攻是指造成得分的出手前傳球，其紀錄反映出傳球在籃球比賽的得分貢獻，是籃球運動表現的重要指標之一；而近五年來在職業籃球統計數據中更有潛在助攻（potential assist）的紀錄，顯現傳球表現越來越受到重視。本文目的在於探討有關籃球傳球的助攻及潛在助攻對得分的貢獻，與傳球在籃球一般進攻表現的整體影響力。利用文獻回顧的方式，分別就籃球攻守統計數據中有關助攻及潛在助攻的研究結果，及以標記分析研究籃球比賽有關傳球表現的結果進行整理。統整有關助攻的研究後，發現助攻確實可以是籃球表現的重要指標，潛在助攻則提供了比較助攻表現的相對數據依據。整理標記分析的研究後，發現傳球次數隨著每次進攻球權時間的增加而有遞增的趨勢；潛在助攻的方向以自三分線外傳向禁區出手投籃為多。傳球雖為推進進攻的重要方式，但是傳球失誤的高比率也是造成進攻失敗的原因，特別是在比賽開始及最後的五分鐘，高效益的進攻往往僅有一次甚至沒有傳球。透過本研究的文獻回顧，期望促進教練或研究者更加了解傳球在籃球比賽的貢獻，在實務或未來研究上加以應用。

Passing is an essential skill in basketball; a successful pass not only requires the agility and speed of the player but a good understanding of the relative positions of the ball, teammates, and the opponents. The scoring contribution of basketball passes, also known as the assist, has been considered to be an important performance indicator in basketball, and the statistics of potential assists that were recently found in professional basketball leagues seems to further support the important role of passes in basketball. The aim of this article was to provide a general review of the research on the contribution of assist and potential assist to score as well as the performance of passes in basketball. The existing studies on the assist and potential assist based on the box scores statistics and studies on the general performance of passes based on the notational analysis method were reviewed. The results of the review support that the assist is a performance indicator for high level basketball and the potential assist gives a relative perspective to provide additional information. Research using the notational analysis on passing performance showed that the number of passes increased along the increasing time of ball possessions, and most of the potential assists were made from outside of the 3-point line to the paint area. Although pass is an important way to advance the ball in offense, error in passes also easily result in turnover, especially in the first and the last 5 minutes of the game as the data suggested that effective offenses were significantly associated with one or even zero passes. The review outlines the current research on performance of passes in basketball games, and not only provides the basketball enthusiasts the basic understanding of passes in the games but also offers a knowledge base for future studies in basketball passes.