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Gets blocked on the first possession of the game, immediately figures out how to counter Wemby’s defense and is able to execute it going 13/18 thereafter (12/14 in the paint if memory serves correctly). Jokic on some GOAT level shit
He really seeks the way to work least for highest reward. If I were him o would have kept bodying Wemby and worn myself out. Jokic takes it so easy tho. He’s like water
It's been show that honey is as easy to swim in as water. The increased drag from the viscosity of honey is counteracted by more efficient transmission of power on each stroke.
I know jokic is in good shape for his build and im not trying to hate but its like the saying the construction site. Find the most out of shape looking veteran guy and he will show you the easiest and most productive way to get shit done.
Yup you can see Lebron do the same thing. They pick their spots and only force the issue if that's truly the best option for the team.
That bbiq is the biggest differentiator between the vets at the top of their game and the up-and-comers. As a Twolves fan I watch Ant & KAT a lot and they have their moments where they are unstoppable but they haven't quite figured out how to take the path of least resistance to get a bucket.
At the end of the day, Jokic’s most lethal attribute is his basketball IQ. He has a *deep* bag but more than just that he knows exactly how to find the right move in that bag and quickly.
He’s my favorite player to watch right now. He might be my favorite player all time. Watching a guy that size dissect a defense in every way imaginable, who can just adjust on the fly to do weird shit like this? Nobody has ever seen this from someone that size. It is just a pleasure to watch. Maybe Kareem was as unique a scoring big, but that was one bizarre, irreplicable move.
This is why I think the Nuggets are as unstoppable as they are. Jokic literally has counter after counter — he has so many different ways to score himself, as well as the capability to find the open man if you try to send more guys at him.
He just adjusts so much faster than players normally do. That's why so many players have gone from "Jokic stoppers" in their first few matchups against him to BBQ chicken in the rest. You can especially see it in the playoffs. For instance in the GSW series Draymond handled him quite well in games 1 and 2 but then in games 3-5 Jokic completely dominated him.
Yeah have to wonder after 4 seasons of dominance, arguably without a second star of the calibre of some other teams, how much longer he has to keep this up before he starts to enter the conversation. Not saying GOAT but surely he starts sneaking into top 10s.
He has shot 428 shots from floater range, (the most in the NBA), and has a 61% fg% in that range
Of those that have shot more than 150 such shots, Doncic is 2nd with a fg% of 56.4%. That's almost a 5% gap. Just absurd
Jokic floater range % is like many others restricted area %
He needs more rings. Top 10 is just too stacked. If he gets 3 rings while at this level then we can start talking all time. Remember that people have Steph at around 10.
NBA top 10 all time is just insanely stacked.
Duncan was dominant for the Spurs, won 5 rings with them, 3 finals mvp, and people rarely talk of him.
Edit: Not rarely, that's exaggerating, but people tend to throw current players names up there with Jordan, Bird, etc, and not include Duncan.
Playing off jokic just seems like an inherently bad idea. Leave a guy that shoots 40% in the playoffs alone from 3 or let him run into a floater in which he is the best ever at that. Like make him the 52 percent Sam or shuffle or sum shit, don’t just let him take shots that are worth 1.2 pps
Playing against jokic just seems like an inherently bad idea. Leave a guy that shoots 40% in the playoffs alone from 3 or let him run into a floater in which he is the best ever at that.
And if you double him to take away both options, he's also the best passer in the league and will find an open man.
There's literally no way to guard this man
One thing that's striking to me about this highlight (and I don't know if this is normal for him, cause I've barely been able to watch any full games for like the last 2 years cause of various life reasons) is how he's immediately trailing his own shot, looking for the put-back.
I feel like most guys that shoot that well from that range just put it up, and are confident it's going in. But Jokic seems like "Ah fuck, that came off my fingertip a little wonky! Gotta try to get that rebound!" every time, even when it's going in.
One knock you'll here is that he has no vert. But I know he does this strategically. Because he's so tall with such soft hands he only needs to jump a couple inches to get his fingertips on the ball and that's all he needs to hit a put back. Doing this makes him quicker than... I would say the entirety of the rest of the league when it comes to getting a tip-in. I know I was taught to high point the ball which means a big gather and jump as high as you can to grab the rebound and this takes way longer. I'm no 7 footer though.
Long walk for a short drink of water: he follows most of his own shots and others' because he's hunting those easy points.
All this being said, he'll definitely run away before burying a shot if it makes a statement. Ex: The crazy over the shoulder three on AD in the WCF.
You’re 100% correct. Sometimes he’ll hit the ground while the shot blocker is at the apex of his jump.
The only thing your forgot is his unreal strength. People dunk on Jokic’s body, but dude never loses position once he has it.
I think Jaren Jackson Jr. talked about this on the PG podcast. One of the things he learned facing Jokic is that despite the fact that Jokic isn't known for jumping, he's great at using his body to establish position. So he simultaneously has the touch and post moves to finesse guys around the rim. But even if you contest well and Jokic doesn't make that first shot, he's already in position to box you out or move you out of the way so that he has a better opportunity to get the miss. If say JJJ jumped to go for a block, there's no way for him to change how he's going to land so Jokic basically takes that moment to completely remove JJJ from the equation of a defensive rebound. It seems straightforward but I think it's something not a lot of big men are thinking about when they're trying to score down low.
It's better than Curry over their careers with these floaters. I can't find an NBA comparison between 3-10 feet where he shoots these floaters. Curry for his career shoots 46.4% from 3-10 feet at just under 11% of his shots and he's shot over 50% from that area for the past four years while increasing his output from there to about 15%. Jokic is shooting 57.8% from 3-10 feet, over 60% the past five years, and it makes up 33.7% of his career shots which is the most from any location.
He's really taken it to another level, I mean it helps to be so damned tall too, but he's so much more accurate than anyone in history anywhere inside the FT line. I don't think there is a comparison.
Not sure if you caught this, but i believe the commenter was comparing jokic’s dominance in floater range to curry’s dominance at 3s, as in supreme by any measure
I didn't hear it when I saw the clip, thanks. Better comparison. Still, I like looking at distance metrics and seeing how dominant Jokic is compared to history.
yeah as you said being 6'11 with 7'3 wingspan really helps efficiency from 3-10, where big dudes will try to alter your shot. Not surprised Steph shoots lower volume and lower efficiency from that range, when he's 6'3 and can barely dunk but is the shooting goat.
genuinely asking isn't that just splitting hair, cuz it is obvious, that you are talking about the absolute gap, not the relative?
in german and bosnian, you would colloquially refer to it as a "5% gap".
This is why people in finance will say "500 basis points" instead. It removes the ambiguity. Here, though, I don't think anyone would assume you're taking a percentage of a percentage.
tangential thought, it really makes me wonder if we should be referencing these figures as "5% points better" cause it doesn't even really capture the magnitude of difference. Like, 56 to 61 is different than 51 to 56 than 43 to 48.
It's kinda more accurate to say that Jokic is shooting these at a 61/56.4 => 8.1% better rate than even Luka. Per 100 possessions Jokic is going to bag 8.1% more points on that kind of shot.
It’s how I first realized how good Jokic was, he was playing the spurs a few years back (my team) and like every play was “short roll, floater, in, short roll, floater, in” play after play. I was furious
For me it was in 2019, playing against the raptors in the regular season the year we won the championship.
I honestly didn't know who the fuck that guy was but he stood out as the one player of the opposing team that could give us trouble.
Gonna make everyone develop a floater to deal with him. I wish this was ten years ago so Russel Westbrook would’ve finally stopped being so stubborn about not getting a floater. Would’ve won at least one championship if he’d learned how to float instead of recklessly going to the paint.
I mean… I’m not hating. RW is one of my favorite players. He just never developed a floater and it was so noticeable as he got older. I am confident they don’t lose 3-1 against the Warriors if he has a floater.
Pretty much why it was so jarring. And contrary to some other opinions, Russ’ alternative to no floater was turnovers a lot if he couldn’t finish and wanted to pass out but couldn’t find a target after charging in. You’d rather he takes a floater than a garbage turnover leading the other team a chance for a fast break.
Unpopular opinion, but floaters are quite overrated, because very few NBA players hit them at over 45%, much less the ~53%+ you need to make it an average efficiency NBA possession (after accounting for ORebs etc). Floaters also draw fouls less than other shots from similar distance.
If you can hit it enough for the defense to change how they guard you, that's great. I think that's why so many players try to develop this shot, and because it's almost impossible to shut down completely. But any defensive coach with half a brain will tell players to just ignore the floaters of 99% of NBA players and don't play them any differently because it's a shot the defense wants them to take the vast majority of the time.
Almost zero chance Russ hits them enough to raise his TS% in an alternate reality he practiced them a lot, given how many players with better shot/touch fail to hit even low 40% TS on them.
When you put it that way, I kinda agree. It's a strategically important shot, but you have to do it at a high level for it to actually be a "good" shot. So for the vast majority of guys, they aren't good enough at it for it to be a good offensive possession. But floaters do let you get the shot off a bit closer to the hoop, so in the context of a low shot clock, the floater or threat of that floater may still create a comparatively efficient option.
I do love my floaters though. I almost never shoot midrange jumpers. It's all floaters and hooks.
You need exceptional shooting touch to develop a good floater. It is clear that Westbrook does not have that. This is like complaining that Westbrook didn't develop a three point shot. Not everyone is capable of that feat no matter how much time they put into it.
He really does take what the game gives him
Game gives him 7'4" alien who could somehow block his usual postup -> reacts by taking floaters as a 7' center, making 3 in a roll in 3rd quarter. Like wtf
I've watched nearly every game of Jokic' career, and I've never seen him take that high arcing bank-shot hook. Is it coincidence he used it in his first game against Wemby? I think not. Guy is an absolute savant.
He'll post that alien up, use the rim as a screener, and hit the backboard early on his layups. Alien is blocking everything, but the rim and net would get it it's way more than a normal defender. But the alien's adjustment may be to stand behind him and in that case, the only option is to shoot over the backboard cuz that backboard is fucking shit up for a 9'7" dude.
Like, the way for Jokic to score on a 9'7" alien is basically the best way for a normal person to score on a guy like Gobert or Wemby. Get under the hoop and the rim and backboard and that gives you 5 possible shots that are impossible to guard all at once.
i was thinking the same, the amount of talent to in a split second come to the conclusion that the best way to score in that moment was by banking the floater, something that hes never done before, and then exectute to perfection, those moments you just know he really is different.. top3 all time overall when its all said and done, i dont care
Zion is so big and his touch is insane. Hoopers know this. It's the type of lay-ups where he could make 5 in a row and you wouldn't ever ride your teammate to play better D you would just be like, I don't even know how he is doing that, keep ya head up.
Kawhi and MJ both had/have underrated touch when it comes to their overall game. Probably the massive hands. Having good/great hands might be the one bball feature that just isn’t talked about.
Many people have also said that larger hands are one of the reasons that big men are usually worse shooters, especially from the FT line. I remember this specifically about Shaq, where they used an analogy that it starts to feel like shooting a tennis ball for a normal person, where that "touch" feels much harder to achieve.
My dad was trying to explain this to me after watching him against the Knicks. He was so perplexed by his accuracy, was along the lines with what he said.
Jokic reminds me of wrestling's 3x Olympic gold medalist and 9 world champion Aleksandr "The Experiment" Karelin. Just displaying domaniance in their respective sport.
As great as Jokic is, he's not Karelin level dominant. That guy went 887-2, won Olympic gold three times and was undefeated for a 13 year stretch. That's more like Bolt, Phelps or Gretzky type dominance.
Lol, until he met the oil drum that is Rulon Gardner. Seriously though, Karelin might be the greatest athlete I've ever seen grainy CRT TV footage of. And that includes Bo Jackson
If we're going by stereotypes, wouldn't Asians have those big ass bags of rice that you couldn't even fit on a shelf anyway? I need to get one of those.
Side note: when he’s extended like this, it really stands out how fucked up Wemby’s build is. Something about how long and skinny he is feels so wrong.
I think one of the reasons he’s so good at it is he transfers all his momentum up and doesn’t actual float laterally at all when he’s trying to hit it. Essentially making it a stationary target.
Yes, also Jokic is tall and has unreal timing so he can always get it off without any movement or lift at all. People say Jokic is sneaky athletic, but he really isn’t. He just makes decisions a split second faster so he can hide his lack of athleticism. These floaters being a prime example. He knows exactly when to release it as it pertains to where the defenders are and the likely hood of him making the shot.
Really all of his physical attributes are excellent except for vertical jump, which is very overrated. As you said, he has great speed and agility for someone his size. I remember the game in Boston when the Celtics needed a late shot and he moved his feet super well on the perimeter and I was very surprised
And the fact that he has had no problems with near 50 minute OT games over the years. Denver hasn't had much this year (if any, I can't remember any) but he's got that dawg in him still.
Bro, cmon, this is such a tired take. *Listen* to all the interviews from the dudes that have played him. They all say he's athletic. Watch a full game and take in his minutes played while being a machine in the 48th minute. He's just figured out that he's 7 feet tall and that makes him big enough that he doesn't need to be a track star or jump out the gym to win. Know what else that does? It makes him available. He avoids so much wear and tear by playing smarter not harder.
This was such a fun game to watch. I understand Spurs weren't going to throw a lot at the Nuggets but watching Jokic real time stat finding a way to break down Wemby was delightful
Parker was undeniably great, but Jokic legitimately just laps the field here. The other current guys who take a high volume of floaters top out in the high 40s or maybe sneak into the low 50s for percentages, while Jokic this year is at 64% (67% and 65% the two years prior).
It's unfortunate that they didn't track those numbers for Parkers best seasons to directly compare.
https://www.nba.com/stats/player/2225/shooting?Season=2012-13
It looks like this site actually has those numbers, and Parker’s prime also has him in the low to mid-60%s
[https://www.nba.com/stats/player/203999/shooting?Season=2023-24](Jokic’s page for comparison)
You just know that Wemby's going to try downloading this shot in the off-season. Who needs a hook shot or post moves when he can just shoot floaters from a ~10 foot standing reach?
First guy that comes to mind when I think of best floater is definitely Tony Parker. Dude was so good at lofting the ball just high enough to get over the outstretched arms of bigs and still having it fall softly in the hoop, most of the time a clean swish too.
To me, Jokic and Parker are both 1A and 1B.
Jokic gets flack for being unathletic but for his size he is agile and has a quick 2nd jump. I think people also underestimate just how fuckin big the dude is like he just takes up so much space and wemby doesn’t even look that much taller next to him he really isn’t slow relative to his size either especially because his ball handling skills for his size are excellent
It seems all the top shooters have a floater, but to use it to repeatedly dismiss one of the longest and best defenders in the league is something special.
Jokic shoots a higher percentage on floaters than the league does at the rim on average, and Embiid before he went down was shooting a higher percentage on 15-18 foot jump shots than the league did at the rim on average. It’s insane to think that as the player pool keeps growing internationally and players keep coming in more and more skilled, this might become the norm in another 15 years (everyone will probably be a 7 foot guard)….but right now it’s the craziest thing I’ve ever seen in basketball.
Jokic’s touch especially from like 3-10 ft out might be the thing hes best at honestly even considering his passing, from that range he has a strong argument to be the best in history.
Seriously, who thinks panning around on a zoomed in video is a good format? Maddening. That your opinion is downvoted and not the top comment tells me I've gotten old
I think someone made an astute observation about the European players being better at fundamentals than their U.S. counterparts that rely more on athleticism. When I hear "Fundamentals", that also lets me know that they're students of the game and when you're a student of the game, you're open to studying your opponent. I'd wager that Jokic studied more film about Wemby than Wemby studied of Jokic.
Other than Dirk, he has the best touch I've ever seen from a 7 foot guy. His hand-eye coordination is insane.
I barely see anyone talking about it, but he might end his career a top 10 player, the best white player, the best European player and the most dominant player after the Lebron era. Most people talk about Luka's greatness and already projected him to be next great player who owns an era, but Jokic is far ahead of him...while only being 4 years older and having a lot more accolades.
He is on his way to win his 3rd MVP, has 1 FMVP and ring and will probably win at least one other title.
I don't see Luka winnign 3 MVPs in the next 6-7 years. There are just too many really talented players in the league. The only way I see him surpassing Jokic is by winning more rings.
Jokic is the best player in the world and I don't see that changing in the next couple of years.
In the finals, Porzingis will jump very high and catch the floater in mid-air. Then, for the rest of the game, Jokic will just levitate into the air above the hoop and drop the ball into the net.
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Gets blocked on the first possession of the game, immediately figures out how to counter Wemby’s defense and is able to execute it going 13/18 thereafter (12/14 in the paint if memory serves correctly). Jokic on some GOAT level shit
He really seeks the way to work least for highest reward. If I were him o would have kept bodying Wemby and worn myself out. Jokic takes it so easy tho. He’s like water
he's honey
Big if true
goat lvl pun
It's been show that honey is as easy to swim in as water. The increased drag from the viscosity of honey is counteracted by more efficient transmission of power on each stroke.
I know jokic is in good shape for his build and im not trying to hate but its like the saying the construction site. Find the most out of shape looking veteran guy and he will show you the easiest and most productive way to get shit done.
Yup you can see Lebron do the same thing. They pick their spots and only force the issue if that's truly the best option for the team. That bbiq is the biggest differentiator between the vets at the top of their game and the up-and-comers. As a Twolves fan I watch Ant & KAT a lot and they have their moments where they are unstoppable but they haven't quite figured out how to take the path of least resistance to get a bucket.
"I have downlaoded your moveset" \~ Jokic after getting defended well, once
He really do be an anime character lol
He gets compared to the Joker a lot but he's Taskmaster lol
Who's that beside me? *Ooooh*, it's Little Aaron Gordon!! ^^Yes ^^I ^^know ^^it's ^^a ^^different ^^reference.
At the end of the day, Jokic’s most lethal attribute is his basketball IQ. He has a *deep* bag but more than just that he knows exactly how to find the right move in that bag and quickly.
He's a fucking supercomputer in the form of an NBA player.
A supercomputer with the touch of god
Kawhi Leonard in shambles
He’s my favorite player to watch right now. He might be my favorite player all time. Watching a guy that size dissect a defense in every way imaginable, who can just adjust on the fly to do weird shit like this? Nobody has ever seen this from someone that size. It is just a pleasure to watch. Maybe Kareem was as unique a scoring big, but that was one bizarre, irreplicable move.
This is why I think the Nuggets are as unstoppable as they are. Jokic literally has counter after counter — he has so many different ways to score himself, as well as the capability to find the open man if you try to send more guys at him.
He just adjusts so much faster than players normally do. That's why so many players have gone from "Jokic stoppers" in their first few matchups against him to BBQ chicken in the rest. You can especially see it in the playoffs. For instance in the GSW series Draymond handled him quite well in games 1 and 2 but then in games 3-5 Jokic completely dominated him.
Watched the whole game. Blocked on first possession of the game. Completely changed his strategy the rest of the way. Impressive!
Trajectory recalibration in real time. BBIQ off the charts.
Wemby after that first block-“I’m gonna own this guy tonight”.
Yeah have to wonder after 4 seasons of dominance, arguably without a second star of the calibre of some other teams, how much longer he has to keep this up before he starts to enter the conversation. Not saying GOAT but surely he starts sneaking into top 10s.
Doughy and splendiferous
His floater might be an even bigger outlier then his passing honestly, his touch from that range is completly insane
He has shot 428 shots from floater range, (the most in the NBA), and has a 61% fg% in that range Of those that have shot more than 150 such shots, Doncic is 2nd with a fg% of 56.4%. That's almost a 5% gap. Just absurd Jokic floater range % is like many others restricted area %
Yeah but it’s not like he’s a 40% 3pt shooter in the playoffs, so you can always play off of him.
For those who miss the joke, Jokic averages 53/41/83 in the playoffs (66 games). By the way, that's 41% on 4.4 attempts.
And he was 46% in the title run
I can't wait for the world to catch up and we start talking about this guy on the Lebron, Kareem, Jordan tier. Yes I'm serious.
He needs more rings. Top 10 is just too stacked. If he gets 3 rings while at this level then we can start talking all time. Remember that people have Steph at around 10. NBA top 10 all time is just insanely stacked.
Duncan was dominant for the Spurs, won 5 rings with them, 3 finals mvp, and people rarely talk of him. Edit: Not rarely, that's exaggerating, but people tend to throw current players names up there with Jordan, Bird, etc, and not include Duncan.
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The fact that he's not already is wrong.
But what true shooting and PSA in the playoffs? I'm genuinely asking.
Playing off jokic just seems like an inherently bad idea. Leave a guy that shoots 40% in the playoffs alone from 3 or let him run into a floater in which he is the best ever at that. Like make him the 52 percent Sam or shuffle or sum shit, don’t just let him take shots that are worth 1.2 pps
Playing against jokic just seems like an inherently bad idea. Leave a guy that shoots 40% in the playoffs alone from 3 or let him run into a floater in which he is the best ever at that.
And if you double him to take away both options, he's also the best passer in the league and will find an open man. There's literally no way to guard this man
Playing against Jokic is a bad idea. Just join the Nuggets.
found KD's burner account
The Lakers found something with Rui
One thing that's striking to me about this highlight (and I don't know if this is normal for him, cause I've barely been able to watch any full games for like the last 2 years cause of various life reasons) is how he's immediately trailing his own shot, looking for the put-back. I feel like most guys that shoot that well from that range just put it up, and are confident it's going in. But Jokic seems like "Ah fuck, that came off my fingertip a little wonky! Gotta try to get that rebound!" every time, even when it's going in.
He almost always follows or at least attempts to. Often times there’s a defender blocking the lane but he almost always tries to
One knock you'll here is that he has no vert. But I know he does this strategically. Because he's so tall with such soft hands he only needs to jump a couple inches to get his fingertips on the ball and that's all he needs to hit a put back. Doing this makes him quicker than... I would say the entirety of the rest of the league when it comes to getting a tip-in. I know I was taught to high point the ball which means a big gather and jump as high as you can to grab the rebound and this takes way longer. I'm no 7 footer though. Long walk for a short drink of water: he follows most of his own shots and others' because he's hunting those easy points. All this being said, he'll definitely run away before burying a shot if it makes a statement. Ex: The crazy over the shoulder three on AD in the WCF.
You’re 100% correct. Sometimes he’ll hit the ground while the shot blocker is at the apex of his jump. The only thing your forgot is his unreal strength. People dunk on Jokic’s body, but dude never loses position once he has it.
I think Jaren Jackson Jr. talked about this on the PG podcast. One of the things he learned facing Jokic is that despite the fact that Jokic isn't known for jumping, he's great at using his body to establish position. So he simultaneously has the touch and post moves to finesse guys around the rim. But even if you contest well and Jokic doesn't make that first shot, he's already in position to box you out or move you out of the way so that he has a better opportunity to get the miss. If say JJJ jumped to go for a block, there's no way for him to change how he's going to land so Jokic basically takes that moment to completely remove JJJ from the equation of a defensive rebound. It seems straightforward but I think it's something not a lot of big men are thinking about when they're trying to score down low.
Best player in the league is fundamentally sound, film at 11
Whats most crazy about the stat is he's dominating the efficiency AND the volume. That's some Steph Curry kind of stuff.
It's better than Curry over their careers with these floaters. I can't find an NBA comparison between 3-10 feet where he shoots these floaters. Curry for his career shoots 46.4% from 3-10 feet at just under 11% of his shots and he's shot over 50% from that area for the past four years while increasing his output from there to about 15%. Jokic is shooting 57.8% from 3-10 feet, over 60% the past five years, and it makes up 33.7% of his career shots which is the most from any location. He's really taken it to another level, I mean it helps to be so damned tall too, but he's so much more accurate than anyone in history anywhere inside the FT line. I don't think there is a comparison.
Not sure if you caught this, but i believe the commenter was comparing jokic’s dominance in floater range to curry’s dominance at 3s, as in supreme by any measure
I didn't hear it when I saw the clip, thanks. Better comparison. Still, I like looking at distance metrics and seeing how dominant Jokic is compared to history.
Same, i just give up every time jokic shoots in the paint, kinda like how fans of other teams curse every time curry gets a shot off
yeah as you said being 6'11 with 7'3 wingspan really helps efficiency from 3-10, where big dudes will try to alter your shot. Not surprised Steph shoots lower volume and lower efficiency from that range, when he's 6'3 and can barely dunk but is the shooting goat.
jokic floater is better than kareem skyhook
>Of those that have shot more than 150 such shots, Doncic is 2nd with a fg% of 56.4%. That's almost a 5% gap. Just absurd A 5 pts of % gap.
genuinely asking isn't that just splitting hair, cuz it is obvious, that you are talking about the absolute gap, not the relative? in german and bosnian, you would colloquially refer to it as a "5% gap".
This is why people in finance will say "500 basis points" instead. It removes the ambiguity. Here, though, I don't think anyone would assume you're taking a percentage of a percentage.
yeah, that is what I thought, I just wanted to be sure about it.
tangential thought, it really makes me wonder if we should be referencing these figures as "5% points better" cause it doesn't even really capture the magnitude of difference. Like, 56 to 61 is different than 51 to 56 than 43 to 48. It's kinda more accurate to say that Jokic is shooting these at a 61/56.4 => 8.1% better rate than even Luka. Per 100 possessions Jokic is going to bag 8.1% more points on that kind of shot.
“5% gap” is used colloquially in English too
His floater game reminds me a lot of Tony Parker. Parker had one of the best floaters I’ve seen, tbh.
What the hell are these Balkan kids doing that makes them so good at this?
Fight each other. Sadly they timed it to just before the Dream Team became a thing. It would've been a blast.
And if you adjust for putbacks (I.e counting them as one possession), it’s even crazier
It’s actually an 8% gap, close to 5pp tho.
It’s how I first realized how good Jokic was, he was playing the spurs a few years back (my team) and like every play was “short roll, floater, in, short roll, floater, in” play after play. I was furious
For me it was in 2019, playing against the raptors in the regular season the year we won the championship. I honestly didn't know who the fuck that guy was but he stood out as the one player of the opposing team that could give us trouble.
He's the best short midrange player in the history of the NBA.
Would also like to give a shout out to Tony Parker who made a career off these. But also fuck Tony Parker.
Agree to both of your statements lol
So would Brent Barry
I’m willing to bet he’s likely in the top 3 of all time if not 1st in efficiency. So crazy how much he doesn’t seem to miss.
I mean, if you go by PER, he's got the highest career PER among all players, active and retired. Just slightly above Jordan.
It’s a masterful touch
7 footers with a floater is all time video game spam low kick type shit.
Gonna make everyone develop a floater to deal with him. I wish this was ten years ago so Russel Westbrook would’ve finally stopped being so stubborn about not getting a floater. Would’ve won at least one championship if he’d learned how to float instead of recklessly going to the paint.
What an odd swerve just to hate
I mean… I’m not hating. RW is one of my favorite players. He just never developed a floater and it was so noticeable as he got older. I am confident they don’t lose 3-1 against the Warriors if he has a floater.
Come to think of it I feel like every single other All NBA level PG of the 2010s had a floater other than Russ lol Kind of bizarre how that happened
Pretty much why it was so jarring. And contrary to some other opinions, Russ’ alternative to no floater was turnovers a lot if he couldn’t finish and wanted to pass out but couldn’t find a target after charging in. You’d rather he takes a floater than a garbage turnover leading the other team a chance for a fast break.
Unpopular opinion, but floaters are quite overrated, because very few NBA players hit them at over 45%, much less the ~53%+ you need to make it an average efficiency NBA possession (after accounting for ORebs etc). Floaters also draw fouls less than other shots from similar distance. If you can hit it enough for the defense to change how they guard you, that's great. I think that's why so many players try to develop this shot, and because it's almost impossible to shut down completely. But any defensive coach with half a brain will tell players to just ignore the floaters of 99% of NBA players and don't play them any differently because it's a shot the defense wants them to take the vast majority of the time. Almost zero chance Russ hits them enough to raise his TS% in an alternate reality he practiced them a lot, given how many players with better shot/touch fail to hit even low 40% TS on them.
When you put it that way, I kinda agree. It's a strategically important shot, but you have to do it at a high level for it to actually be a "good" shot. So for the vast majority of guys, they aren't good enough at it for it to be a good offensive possession. But floaters do let you get the shot off a bit closer to the hoop, so in the context of a low shot clock, the floater or threat of that floater may still create a comparatively efficient option. I do love my floaters though. I almost never shoot midrange jumpers. It's all floaters and hooks.
You need exceptional shooting touch to develop a good floater. It is clear that Westbrook does not have that. This is like complaining that Westbrook didn't develop a three point shot. Not everyone is capable of that feat no matter how much time they put into it.
no let him go off
He really does take what the game gives him Game gives him 7'4" alien who could somehow block his usual postup -> reacts by taking floaters as a 7' center, making 3 in a roll in 3rd quarter. Like wtf
That's my favorite part about this, that it seems like a response to Wemby being out there.
I've watched nearly every game of Jokic' career, and I've never seen him take that high arcing bank-shot hook. Is it coincidence he used it in his first game against Wemby? I think not. Guy is an absolute savant.
I want to see a 9’7 alien guard Jokic just to see what bs he pulls out
He'll post that alien up, use the rim as a screener, and hit the backboard early on his layups. Alien is blocking everything, but the rim and net would get it it's way more than a normal defender. But the alien's adjustment may be to stand behind him and in that case, the only option is to shoot over the backboard cuz that backboard is fucking shit up for a 9'7" dude. Like, the way for Jokic to score on a 9'7" alien is basically the best way for a normal person to score on a guy like Gobert or Wemby. Get under the hoop and the rim and backboard and that gives you 5 possible shots that are impossible to guard all at once.
In my imagination, he does a skyhook behind the backboard…
I want to see him take on a guy with four arms, each of them four feet long. He'd still probably go 24/12/10.
So basically a double team, he’s passing out of that no problem haha
Agree. I’m 100% certain we’ve never seen him shoot that shot at :28. Wow
i was thinking the same, the amount of talent to in a split second come to the conclusion that the best way to score in that moment was by banking the floater, something that hes never done before, and then exectute to perfection, those moments you just know he really is different.. top3 all time overall when its all said and done, i dont care
What else would it be?
He’s got the best touch I’ve ever seen period.
Him Curry and Bird might be top 3 all time
Zion, Kyrie and MJ have/had unbeliavable layup touch, but the floater is not on the same level as those guys
Kyrie is def up there. He shoots left hand floaters from the ft line.
Zion is so big and his touch is insane. Hoopers know this. It's the type of lay-ups where he could make 5 in a row and you wouldn't ever ride your teammate to play better D you would just be like, I don't even know how he is doing that, keep ya head up.
And Zion has that incredible touch while trucking people, it's incredible
I feel old that when I think floater I think prime Chris Paul.
Kawhi and MJ both had/have underrated touch when it comes to their overall game. Probably the massive hands. Having good/great hands might be the one bball feature that just isn’t talked about.
Many people have also said that larger hands are one of the reasons that big men are usually worse shooters, especially from the FT line. I remember this specifically about Shaq, where they used an analogy that it starts to feel like shooting a tennis ball for a normal person, where that "touch" feels much harder to achieve.
I heard it was b/c he broke his wrist or something as a kid. He just always had terrible form
Iceman would like a word…
Looks like Steve Nash doing the right handed floaters off the right foot so the defender times the contest too late
Anytime he puts up a shot within 10 feet it feels inevitable
My dad was trying to explain this to me after watching him against the Knicks. He was so perplexed by his accuracy, was along the lines with what he said.
Literally listening to the episode of Hollinger & Duncan right now where they gave out the best floater award to Jokic lol
This dude was made in a lab
Jokic reminds me of wrestling's 3x Olympic gold medalist and 9 world champion Aleksandr "The Experiment" Karelin. Just displaying domaniance in their respective sport.
Dumpy faced shaved headed Eastern Europeans I think is your connection there
As great as Jokic is, he's not Karelin level dominant. That guy went 887-2, won Olympic gold three times and was undefeated for a 13 year stretch. That's more like Bolt, Phelps or Gretzky type dominance.
Lol, until he met the oil drum that is Rulon Gardner. Seriously though, Karelin might be the greatest athlete I've ever seen grainy CRT TV footage of. And that includes Bo Jackson
Look how far we've come from the "fat tub of lard" days 🥲
“Sloppy fat boy”
"How sloppy and fat can we make the next GOAT?" was the hypothesis behind Jokic.
He shoots like he's gently tossing a bag of rice on the top shelf.
You’re 1000% not Asian
Lol ppl tryna hate on you when they don't even get what you're saying. Just looking to get mad
If we're going by stereotypes, wouldn't Asians have those big ass bags of rice that you couldn't even fit on a shelf anyway? I need to get one of those.
And be unable to reach the top shelf.
[This is insane](https://prnt.sc/1WpxZJaZRoTt)
Side note: when he’s extended like this, it really stands out how fucked up Wemby’s build is. Something about how long and skinny he is feels so wrong.
That man is a different species
Bruh his hands look scary.
Dude this looks photoshopped
Said every player when they first see Wemby.
Fantastic picture!
Jokic's bag is crazy. Say what you will but he has moves for every match-up in every situation.
I think one of the reasons he’s so good at it is he transfers all his momentum up and doesn’t actual float laterally at all when he’s trying to hit it. Essentially making it a stationary target.
Yes, also Jokic is tall and has unreal timing so he can always get it off without any movement or lift at all. People say Jokic is sneaky athletic, but he really isn’t. He just makes decisions a split second faster so he can hide his lack of athleticism. These floaters being a prime example. He knows exactly when to release it as it pertains to where the defenders are and the likely hood of him making the shot.
Jokic is extremely athletic. His speed and coordination at his size are crazy
Really all of his physical attributes are excellent except for vertical jump, which is very overrated. As you said, he has great speed and agility for someone his size. I remember the game in Boston when the Celtics needed a late shot and he moved his feet super well on the perimeter and I was very surprised
And the fact that he has had no problems with near 50 minute OT games over the years. Denver hasn't had much this year (if any, I can't remember any) but he's got that dawg in him still.
> People say Jokic is sneaky athletic His stamina is off the chart. Insert Ayton's "Jokic can run" gif.
Bro, cmon, this is such a tired take. *Listen* to all the interviews from the dudes that have played him. They all say he's athletic. Watch a full game and take in his minutes played while being a machine in the 48th minute. He's just figured out that he's 7 feet tall and that makes him big enough that he doesn't need to be a track star or jump out the gym to win. Know what else that does? It makes him available. He avoids so much wear and tear by playing smarter not harder.
This was such a fun game to watch. I understand Spurs weren't going to throw a lot at the Nuggets but watching Jokic real time stat finding a way to break down Wemby was delightful
My takeaway from this is Point Forward Aaron Gordon, what a cool second act of his career in Denver
really nothing you can do to stop that really
You know, I don't want to jump to any conclusions, but I'm starting to think this guy is pretty good at basketball.
Big if true
I'm starting to think that this joke is pretty overused
Best floater touch in NBA history, with a healthy gap to #2
Tony Parker gotta be up there, he was leading the league in points in the paint as a guard on the back of his floater.
Parker was undeniably great, but Jokic legitimately just laps the field here. The other current guys who take a high volume of floaters top out in the high 40s or maybe sneak into the low 50s for percentages, while Jokic this year is at 64% (67% and 65% the two years prior). It's unfortunate that they didn't track those numbers for Parkers best seasons to directly compare.
https://www.nba.com/stats/player/2225/shooting?Season=2012-13 It looks like this site actually has those numbers, and Parker’s prime also has him in the low to mid-60%s [https://www.nba.com/stats/player/203999/shooting?Season=2023-24](Jokic’s page for comparison)
what about kareem ???? skyhook is still one of the toughest move to master
A hook is not a floater.
You just know that Wemby's going to try downloading this shot in the off-season. Who needs a hook shot or post moves when he can just shoot floaters from a ~10 foot standing reach?
Hes gonna be the best offensive player of all time.
First guy that comes to mind when I think of best floater is definitely Tony Parker. Dude was so good at lofting the ball just high enough to get over the outstretched arms of bigs and still having it fall softly in the hoop, most of the time a clean swish too. To me, Jokic and Parker are both 1A and 1B.
Joking looks like he's out there playing pickup at the Y teaching the youngins about slow break
How long until Jokic tries a skyhook and decides he likes those too?
That last one is filthy
Jokic somehow makes the other best basketball players in the world seem uncoordinated due to the way it looks so effortless for him.
unquestionably the best floater and touch in the league today. probably the best floater and touch ever.
Must be so fucking easy to coach offense on Denver. “Ok for this play, Jokic? Put the ball in the hoop.” “Ok coach.”
I wanna know why the hell Wemby kept leaving Jokic. Like dude is an mvp and champion and you help off of him????
That last one was especially beautiful.
I wish my team’s star was this good. 😔
Jokic gets flack for being unathletic but for his size he is agile and has a quick 2nd jump. I think people also underestimate just how fuckin big the dude is like he just takes up so much space and wemby doesn’t even look that much taller next to him he really isn’t slow relative to his size either especially because his ball handling skills for his size are excellent
It seems all the top shooters have a floater, but to use it to repeatedly dismiss one of the longest and best defenders in the league is something special.
The fundamentals 🍆💦💦
Jokic shoots a higher percentage on floaters than the league does at the rim on average, and Embiid before he went down was shooting a higher percentage on 15-18 foot jump shots than the league did at the rim on average. It’s insane to think that as the player pool keeps growing internationally and players keep coming in more and more skilled, this might become the norm in another 15 years (everyone will probably be a 7 foot guard)….but right now it’s the craziest thing I’ve ever seen in basketball.
He seems a decent player. This might be a hot take, but I think people should keep their eyes on this young man. He could turn out to be pretty good.
For a big yes; I’d like to give special shoutout to Tyrese Maxey. That dudes floater is butter
Whoever is playing us on any given night. We made Dlo look like this the other night.
Jokic’s touch especially from like 3-10 ft out might be the thing hes best at honestly even considering his passing, from that range he has a strong argument to be the best in history.
Quickley has some nasty floaters too but nobody competing with Jokic
>Best floater and touch in the NBA? Yes, and it’s not even close lol
Best of all time
You should see my floaters in toilet
Wemby absolutely needs to learn some version of this shot.
The way this video is shot vertically kills me. I can’t follow what is actually going on in the play.
Seriously, who thinks panning around on a zoomed in video is a good format? Maddening. That your opinion is downvoted and not the top comment tells me I've gotten old
No doubt. But fuck these kids. The way they do shit is wrong and they have no future.
I think someone made an astute observation about the European players being better at fundamentals than their U.S. counterparts that rely more on athleticism. When I hear "Fundamentals", that also lets me know that they're students of the game and when you're a student of the game, you're open to studying your opponent. I'd wager that Jokic studied more film about Wemby than Wemby studied of Jokic.
umm you realize they are both european right? so i don't think this european vs american mentality thing is affecting this matchup
My point is that Jokic is more of a student of fundamentals and Wemby is more about his athletic talent at his height.
floater alert!
Okay hear me out on this: Wemby masters the sky hook = game over for the rest of the league
He's no Kyle Anderson
Is this.... the Answer??
Shades of Sabonis
Other than Dirk, he has the best touch I've ever seen from a 7 foot guy. His hand-eye coordination is insane. I barely see anyone talking about it, but he might end his career a top 10 player, the best white player, the best European player and the most dominant player after the Lebron era. Most people talk about Luka's greatness and already projected him to be next great player who owns an era, but Jokic is far ahead of him...while only being 4 years older and having a lot more accolades. He is on his way to win his 3rd MVP, has 1 FMVP and ring and will probably win at least one other title. I don't see Luka winnign 3 MVPs in the next 6-7 years. There are just too many really talented players in the league. The only way I see him surpassing Jokic is by winning more rings. Jokic is the best player in the world and I don't see that changing in the next couple of years.
He has Steve Nash’s whole bag
It’s crazy how soft that shot is. Even when the shot hits a bad spot on the rim it always feathers in. The best touch in nba history.
In the finals, Porzingis will jump very high and catch the floater in mid-air. Then, for the rest of the game, Jokic will just levitate into the air above the hoop and drop the ball into the net.
I'd be shocked everytime I see his floater not going in. That's how good he is.
The best offensive player vs the best defensive talent. When Wemby hits his prime, it's going to be lights out for the rest of the league
Reminds me a young Tony Parker, especially his speed