2024 J1's Chance Creators by Key Passes: Sávio — and the Defender in Second Place

Goals get remembered; the final pass that made them often does not. Key passes — passes leading directly to a shot — offer a bigger sample than assists and depend less on a teammate's finishing, which makes them a useful baseline for creativity. Here are key passes per 90 (KP/90) for the 2024 J1 players in our detailed-stats sample.

First place is expected; second place is not

Matheus Sávio leading the chart (2.65 per 90 for Urawa) is no surprise: with a 7.39 average rating he ranks in the top three of this sample — a classic on-ball creator. The interesting name is second. Gamba Osaka's Ryo Hatsuse is listed as a defender, yet produced 2.37 key passes per 90 and tied for near the top of the league with 7 assists.

Full-backs becoming the axis of chance creation is old news in top European leagues, but seeing the same picture confirmed by J1 data matters. It means genuine playmakers can hide inside the "defender" category — and that scouting workflows which filter by position label alone will miss them.

Hiroshima's division of labour, Gamba's concentration

At team level, two patterns emerge. Sanfrecce Hiroshima spread the creative burden: Shunsuke Higashi (8 assists, 2.02 KP/90) and Mutsuki Kato (7 assists) share it. Gamba Osaka concentrated it: Hatsuse (2.37) and Usami (2.33) occupy second and third in the chart as the team's twin supply lines. Usami, at 33, also tops this entire sample with a 7.58 average rating.

One caveat. A key pass records that a shot followed — not how good the shot was. A pass that invites a low-probability strike from distance counts the same as a decisive through-ball. Our data does not yet include xA (expected assists), so read key-pass numbers as a volume signal for creativity, and let video and live scouting judge the quality.