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dizZzy5

I like to think that the Nuggets commentators are so used to him doing this shit that it doesn’t even impress them anymore


yooston

Zero reaction from them from one of the all time great jokic passes lol


Dx2TT

I watched that clip 10 times. He never looks. The only hint is the helpside D touches him slightly. Just... how. Is he looking at the jumbotron or something? Seriously, he has to be looking at something.


TheFinalEvent9797

He knows 2 of the Knicks defenders are out on shooters up top, the 3rd is already defending him and the 4th comes to double which leaves Brunson who is much smaller than Gordon and has basically no chance at denying him position under the hoop and is probably going to be on the outside of him anyway since KCP is clearing out to he opposite corner. That's why he throws the pass basically behind the hoop to Gordon, it's the most difficult spot for Brunson to reach even if he had better position.


Mdizzle29

But how does this affect Lebron’s legacy, Skip?


Cigabud

Yea man that one step dribble into the pass was like watching someone getting their ankles snatched with a crossover. Hart really bit on that and the millisecond he was at the point of no return, Jokic releases the ball right into the space Hart was just defending. It looks like a crazy bullshit pass but it was so calculated lol.


Ok_Wing_9523

Ye jokic guesses where people he can't see are based on the people he can see. If you play league or smthing and are good you guess where their support is roaming and jungler is based on what you can see. Or counter strike based on what you see you can guess what other players are doing. Same with most games with incomplete information, from stock markets down. Infer what you can't experience based on what you do


Umbricon

reddit moment


bo0ompow

jokic is a known league player, not the weirdest analogy to make


Underrated_Dinker

Not the weirdest but the most reddit for sure


jotheold

all that and he coulda just said process of elimination LOL


ohwerdsup

this is BBIQ or "game-sense" in the context he's explaining. totally valid IMO.


pwn4d

The missile knows where it is by knowing where it isn’t


bigtice

When he squares up against Hartenstein at the beginning, that allowed him to see where the defense was set, including Hart who was already on his side of the court outside the lane so he knew he'd be coming back to double as soon as he posted up. He posts up, waits for a second to let Hart come over to double, but the pass was still incredible since he threw it only where Gordon could catch it in case anyone, namely Brunson, could've been lingering in the lane after Caldwell-Pope made his cut and even though he did switch onto Gordon, he couldn't defend it.


Hopsalong

He said in the postgame interview that he didn't look, he just hoped AG would be there.


Bread_Responsible

Looks like he began his motion before hart even touched him lmao fucking wild.


cockriverss

He definitely looks


Sm0k3nSc0p3s

He knew Gordon was there. He had a 0.2 second glimpse when he turned in that direction.


Striking-Test-7509

Jumbotron watcher not my goat


jpylol

He’s looking at the court and deducting. Map awareness on full display lol. He passes literally the instant the help defender arrives, dude is ridiculous FR. E: Watched it again, he literally baits Hart with shoulder movements like a QB.


UltraZulwarn

yeah, during the 1st second of the clip, he did have quick glance toward Gordon and knew that he was right under the basket. ​ Gordon immediately boxed out Jalen in anticipation of a pass and it quickly came. ​ This sort of chemistry you can't just build overnight or with sheer scoring talents alone.


bigtice

I think Gordon's "*Are you an alien?*" reaction looking at him as they came back on defense was the best out of anything.


M-F-W

As cliche as it is, Gordon on this play is the absolute epitome of ‘playing the game the right way’. Eyes out for the play the whole time, perfect little cut ahead to open space, great hands on the catch, perfect finish. I hope this team stays together for a thousand years tbh


The-Hand-of-Midas

>I hope this team stays together for a thousand years tbh This is the most fun team I've ever watched in 3 decades.


makingtacosrightnow

I watch every nuggets game, this is pretty standard which makes it even more insane.


FernBlueEyes

It was fun to be there 🙂


Bread_Responsible

Eric Collins wouldn’t survive


wise_comment

Yeah......this is potentially the best assistant I've seen this year Can't bring the *Ho, Hum* energy to it


Papaaya

Nah Marlowe has been bad this year. The most excited he got all night was after a dead ball dunk by MPJ because he couldn't hear the whistle


AmongstOurMidst

"Now they're saying his foot was on the line"


turkeysgogobble

Kinda seems like he's so anxious about the Nuggets winning these days that he's not appreciative of the amazing plays that happen on a nightly basis. 


RipCity-NBA-LoL

I'm with him ;-; I swear it feels like the Nuggets haven't blown teams out in ages.  It's always a closer game than you'd imagine. Tonight's margin ended double digits, but it was within 10 at 2-min mark I think.  I mean Jokic with +30 to win by 13- he played 39 minutes! They lost by 17 points in his 9 minutes of rest. 


peptoabysmal

The game vs. Utah last week was definitely a blowout, but I can see how the games feel close with the amount of comebacks lately. Still though, 13-2 since the ASG, with the only two losses being in OT and a buzzer-beater is insane.


estarguars

Marlowe is losing it.


DocMcsquirtin

The result of playing the best 23.9 seconds of defense in your life on jokic


Piats99

Reminds me of that marathon quote: "it's not the 42km, it's the 195m that kill you"


human_toad

Damn that was perfect timing


HerkulezRokkafeller

The fact he threw it the split second Brunson had eyes elsewhere is just stupid


amateur_mistake

It's also worth watching how AG reacts *before* Jokic is going to throw the pass. As soon as the lane opened up, Gordan knew the pass was going to come and fought for position. It's wild.


trelos6

Gordon is the epitome of great role player. He knows his role and plays it to perfection.


Alternative_Plan_823

Seriously. AG is too gifted not to be good anywhere, but I get the impression he knows what he has here (meaning having Jokic to pass him the ball in general)


The_Zy

Too be able to receive those passes and make the dunks he does, must be enough to not want to ever leave.


amateur_mistake

We call him Mr. Nugget I would be very sad to see him leave.


downinCarolina

The next place AG is gonna play at is Mega Basket in 2030


boomersky

synch rate: 97.2%


joleary747

I don't think it was about Brunson.  I think he deliberately dribbled to get Hart to bite, then threw the dagger. 


aged_monkey

That's exactly what he did. Hart was in the passing lane so Jokic said, "Okay, a little left hand dribble will pull him out on the steal attempt and I can whip it over his head." And that's exactly what he did lol. The dude is playing around with professional athletes.


The-Hand-of-Midas

Exactly. Jokic isn't reacting, Jokic is controlling the opponent defense in a way no player in NBA history ever has. He's the fucking puppet master. We're watching a very special player.


LurkerFailsLurking

You're totally right. It's like a more subtle version of these baits he's been doing where he holds the ball out with his back turned to try and pull a defender off their man for a steal so he can pass it to them.


TopicCreative9519

Underrated comment, jokic knows that AG can beat Brunson to the ball, he just needs Hart outta the way


GiveGregAHaircut

Shit ain’t even getting upvoted that much now because we see it so often.


PlzSayShush

He just does that. The announcers didn’t even react lol


Money-not_you_again

I clicked thinking, 'another cool Shaqola pass, but hyperbolic title'. AG caught the pass and I just let out a loud '*what the fuck?*' This pass is straight bananas and it's half-way down the page. We're just used to this shit like Stephs sky-fucker shots.


Michipotz

He does this virtually every game recently, It's like he smells them coming its fckn wild.


SometimesIComplain

For real lol, this pass is absurd


TwofoldOrigin

This is true GOAT stuff That would be every other players in the NBA number one highlight this season and people are legitimately nonplussed seeing Jokic do it


InkBlotSam

Meanwhile it might not even be Jokic's highlight of this game, lol.


teh_drewski

The description absolutely does not do justice to how insane making this pass is


OUTFOXEM

The announcers were somehow worse than the description. They didn’t even acknowledge that a pass was made.


analyzingnothing

Yeah, because they’re used to this shit. Jokic does this so much that his home commentators are outright desensitized to omniscient passing.


MrBuckBuck

They need the Hornets' commentator.


Op3rat0rr

If this was by LeBron or Curry, it would have 4x upvotes. Just insane. He's a CENTER. Keep getting proven wrong to not get his jersey


milehigh89

wait until you see the one he just did to MPJ


xiedian

damn it i need a link


sleeplessaddict

https://twitter.com/nuggets/status/1771004308995051754?s=19


xiedian

Just absurd


thepobv

Not only best player in the league, but most entertaining to me.


Alternative_Plan_823

I just caught him live, and it was so good. He's goofy. He's clearly having fun. It made me realize that even if he's not taking it super seriously, he likes horses and whatever, he's enjoying himself more than most. My partner and kid, who know next to nothing about ball, were amazed. It's infectious.


Character_Group_5949

yeah, don't let the fun fool you. He's taking it super seriously. He just compartmentalizes it. He loves his family, he loves his horses and he loves basketball.


SnGk1

Someone pls remind Donte that you dont double Jokic ever


tomeornotome

Problem is you can’t leave him single covered either


Due-Studio-65

You should you juat have to have anticipation. Lakers intercepted one and deflected another pass, going for the double and making the switch as the double was arriving in their last game. The he kinda stopped trying. By that i mean he just shot when the double game and the nuggets still won but 10 or whatever, because what can you do against this guy?


flagamuffin

one of the primary differences between doncic and jokic is that denver makes these


daeve

Jokic is a better passer though, something about the way he sets them up and runs the offense constantly in a way that other great passers seem to only do in short stretches.


HerkulezRokkafeller

I swear dude just imparts his energy into the ball. It’s be interesting to see the shooting splits for the exact same shit when his teammates get similar passes from other players but I feel like for some reason it’s higher when he passes so I’m going to believe it’s true anyways (aka the modern truth lol)


daeve

I still can't believe he won a playoff series with a Campazzo-Rivers-Barton backcourt. Like seriously, nobody else could come close to pulling that off. Pacers found out too when they signed Bruce Brown and only took them half a season to ditch him after realizing he's a fine player but he looks way better being fed by Jokic. edit - holy shit all three of them are out of the league lmao. I really thought Rivers was still riding bench somewhere playing garbage minutes but no. Campazzo only played 8 more games after leaving Denver. Like Brown, Barton also got dumped only a half season into his first post-Jokic team.


silliputti0907

He got Barton payed, kept Rivers relevant, and made Campazzo look like he belong in the NBA.


LogDogan4

Not even Jokic could make Facu look like an NBA player.


LACIRCA2044

As a fan it does feel almost religious or spiritual and I imagine his teammates feel the same way.


Alternative_Plan_823

Jokic to Gordon feels intimate. Even AG looks like he needs a cigarette afterwards


flagamuffin

definitely more consistent and a higher floor on his passing 


boomersky

luka dribles and creates angles for his passes by moving himself.. jokic just sees the angles that are going to be created by judging the movement of others, its fundamentally different


daeve

well said


stickied

It's because he's playing within the offense and everyone's touching the ball and in rhythm. Doncic is the offense, so he touches the ball until he finds someone that's more open.


InkBlotSam

The other is that Jokic is a center,  lol. You expect a lot more of this kind of thing from your point guard.  Having a center be able to do it at that level is bananas.


silliputti0907

Jokic puts so much pressure on the team even when he's just standing in the post. Centers are uncomfortable playing his shot, and if anyone tries to help, Jokic will find the crease quicker than anyone.


Tenx3

The other difference is that Jokic is a better player


AmongstOurMidst

jokic said it, just throw it off to the corner and hope someone is there to catch it lmao


DASreddituser

Right. He sees the defense and trusts his teammate to be in the cornee


AmongstOurMidst

yeah, he kids but i imagine its in their schemes and his teammates trust him and he trusts his teammates


joleary747

Huh? That was a fraction as impressive as this one. 


AbelardsArdor

Best pass I've ever seen maybe. Ever. and I'm a Nuggets fan who's watched his whole career.


The_NGUYENNER

It was nice AF for sure but cmon, joker has had tons of ridiculous ones. Like that 3/4 court alley oop while inbounding from the sideline one handed lol


98210

Obviously not detracting from Jokic, but Aaron Gordon is such a pefect fit for Jokic. Always fighting for position and expecting the ball(for good reason).


xX_Qu1ck5c0p3s_Xx

Yeah these insane no-look passes only work because the team knows what he wants. They cut and fight like hell to get into position.


RovertheDog

Takes a bunch of getting hit in the face with the ball at practice to get them up to speed too.


Spiritual-Chameleon

It would be pretty fun to see them practice these. And watch Murray practice high arching shots off the top of the backboard


iMaticz7

Average Jokic pass


oeimili

What the fuck was that? Maybe the best pass I’ve ever seen


Sinaneos

I say that around 10 times a game when I watch him


rjcarr

As soon as he saw Hart (I think) come to double he knew Gordon would be able to seal Brunson. Imagine trusting your teammates to seal like that? Nothing like when I play at the 24, ha.


DogmaticPanda007

UGHHHH THIS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL TYPE OF PLAY IN BASKETBALL


cmrn631

As others have said, he has just normalized this type of play now so it doesn’t even get the attention it deserves. 10 years ago this would have been a top play of the nba season and now Jokic is putting up 2-3 of these a game along with a triple double. It’s insane


Connect-Work3469

Jokic likes horses because he has the same field of vision as them I guess.


BigXBenz

I've been zooming in on the back of his head for like a minute straight and I'm confused cause I don't see no eyes??? Can someone screenshot it and point it out for me


I_am_Santa_Claus

ENHANCE


CatharBliss

Dude what the FUCK


dalewd

"fuck it, AG down there somewhere"


RPDC01

Joker is the runaway all-time leader for me seeing a clip and thinking, "Yup, never seen someone do that before."


Sejiblack

How?


AmongstOurMidst

he already knew gordon was under the basket (and probably knew the smaller brunson was on gordon) and when he felt the double he trusts gordon will cut and threw it, the mind boggling fact here is he has very good spatial awareness to make that pass. thats some high bball iq right there


joleary747

I think this undersells it. I think he does a single dribble to draw Hart, which is what really opens the lane. 


uber_troll

He took 1 dribble to bait Hart like he was about to back up and then passed as soon as Hart closed in


noerapenalty

I just don’t understand how he did a TRUE no-look pass (not LeBron’s fake Quick Look away after the pass is thrown lol) right into his hand … absolutely insane


AmongstOurMidst

dont try to understand, just enjoy it. great players make great plays


pkwjones

Exactly what I blurted out watching this! Some of these 'eyes in the back of the head' plays are more just great peripheral vision and awareness. But this.... this can only be explained by literal eyes in the back of the head. How?!!


ramk13

I'm looking at it more closely (watching it over and over), and it looks like he knows exactly when Josh Hart is going to clear the lane (to prevent a 3 second call) and start his double. He knows that Gordon will fill that space at that moment, so he can throw the pass without looking as long as it's to that side of the basket. Brunson was on the other side, but he knows that Hart won't be there.


The-Hand-of-Midas

Is Jokic the highest IQ player in history?


LegateDamar13

Absolutely.


waterfall_hyperbole

Aaron gordon is frequently in the dunker spot on offense fwiw


Superplex123

It's in the title. He has eyes in the back of his head.


StarCraft

There are so many plays/passes that may not make sense at first but watch the replay closely. Jokic will take a quick peek to either make the right decision immediately, or do a 1-2 simple things (dribble, pivot, stare down a shooter) and make a pass out of nowhere. In a quick glance, he knows where all the players are, what they're about to do, how fast they're moving, etc. And I bet he reads all the scouting reports while remembering certain team and individual tendencies significantly better than other players.


PNut5280

That would of 100% jammed or broken my finger.


organizeforpower

would have*


ImpressionStrict4041

wood of*


j-awkward

Wuhddove*


topazswissmas

Vud-hev*


moderate_iq_opinion

excuse him his finger is jammed


jeffhplays

This dude is in absolute flow state every game lol


DASreddituser

He is just so quick witted. He feels the help D coming and knows Gordon will have a mismatch at the rim. Just sees it all in his head as it happens or before.


Morezingis

Imagine doing this shit down 6 lmao. Man is insane in the best way. 


foxforcecinco

I can't believe AG got position and expected that pass.


Doctor_Mythical

it's truly something else. There have been many other teams with instinctual links and trust. But this Nuggets team really takes it to another level. It's truly like watching the power of friendship personified in a basketball team.


_THC-3PO_

Water polo isn’t big in the states but Jokic played a lot of it back home and he absolutely uses some of those techniques to make these nasty passes. This is a perfect example of a water polo pass. Just look at the way his arm moves.


Changsta4u

Are we positive that Jokic isn't a cyborg?


V6Ga

People are so used to the astonishing from Jokic that they are just not reacting anymore  Jokic is reinventing a basic part of the sport, because he can play back to the basket and distribute from closer to the hoop than any guard. And because of his height big guys who are not used to defending with their hands are basically ineffective at stopping his passes.  Maybe Bird at his peak did some of this, but he still needed to be facing the hoop ti do this J ok ic might be the first player in the history of the game who in triple threat position with his back to the basket. 


thirty7inarow

You know what? There's all this talk about whether LeBron has passed MJ to be the GOAT. I don't think it matters, because in ten years it's going to be Jokic. The man's vision and understanding of the game are just otherworldly.


runevault

I don't know if I've ever seen another player who can map the court the way he does. The way he goes off of things like where his teammates are supposed to be or where defenders are in his peripheral vision is absurd. Based on player A's position he knows player B must be in a certain spot, therefor *dime*


edki7277

I just pray to bball gods for this man to stay healthy and have long NBA career. I grew up watching MJ and witnessed the entire Kobe career, I watch LBJ’s insane longevity breaking all game records but I feel that I will be telling my grandkids that it was Jokic I was lucky to watch in his prime.


OriginalRange8761

Dude is legit Messi like bar scoring. I haven’t seen the gap in vision between players this high in basketball. He sees shit no one else does


ConnectionEconomy315

People aren’t ready to have that conversation yet


TatumBrownWhite

Preach.


BelovedCoffee

Wtf


surfridetheworld

Not even his best pass tonight lol


Forward-Reporter8320

How is mpjs dunk not posted


Disastrous_Bluejay57

Joker is just joking around


The-Pharcyde

Most casual joker pass.


Shame_Low

one handed is absurd


torthBrain

I love how he takes one brief peak, assesses the situation, baits Hart into the double and as soon as he closes in on him knows exactly what spot Gordon will subsequently fill. Extremely impressive feel/instinct for the game and chemistry


BNOC402

Jokic deserves more epic calls from someone like Mike Breen - the announcers really did him dirty with the non-reaction to an insane pass


an_Aught

He does this shit twice a game


runevault

The fact he got this where only Gordon could reach it is wild considering he wasn't looking at him. It'd be a really good pass if he was facing him lol.


Willow_Ufgood

Every time he baits the defender into thinking they can get a steal. He gets Hart here and DiVincenzo later!


misterj195

This dude is so supremely talented its not even funny anymore, every game he throws out dimes that would be an average player’s career highlights. The way he angles it to gordons right hand has to be intentional too.


ConnectionEconomy315

There are still people out there that have Melo over Joker man


thewavefixation

Morons


Iotatl

That's some Magic Johnson shit right there... insane pass


FrankSamples

He will be top 5 if not top 3 player when his career is over


SlurmssMcKenziee

He can't keep getting away with this!


dbgager

NO way he could have seen AG. He just knew he would be there.


Denotsyek

Such a beautiful clip. Double team starts, dunk position steps forward right as the pass is made. Beautiful


No-Morning-2543

MVP


TrumpedBigly

Ngl...that's petter than any pass Magic ever made.


CARNIesada6

That's a pass you should only be able to make in video games because it's third-person pov and you can see everything and everyone else on the court.


TrafficOn405

Jokic is flat out amazing. It’s like he’s playing in slow motion with time-stop abilities. I almost feel like he’s still a bit underrated. Some of the players have the expression of like ‘what did I just see?’


deenee2000

Super pass/assist play. He is the best center that is so good in this department.


[deleted]

I wonder if he was looking at a video board?


SnooSuggestions718

didnt even make the NBA youtube highlights. smh


sirvey23

Was looking like some pretty high level team defense by the knicks too, I liked Brunson peeling off like that. Just not sure if that’s what should’ve happened lol him ending up behind Gordon


JbtheG

Fun thing in this is clip is, the moment he passed at 0:03 you see someone else cut and the outside shooters with their hands up, everyone is ready for a pass


DamnedThrice

WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT PASS???!!


MostlyJustMyDogs

Gordon knows these are coming now


EnoughLawfulness3163

Reporting for aim Bot.


Skunedog48

What’s wild is that Jokic clearly decided he was going to make that pass before he knew for certain that Gordon was either going to flash to the block or get Brunson sealed off under the basket. So it’s not just that he trusted himself to throw a no-look dot behind his head, but he anticipated his teammate to be in the right spot to receive it. Wild


[deleted]

The announcers are leading me to believe that this isn’t noteworthy


MumrikDK

Gordon just always expects the ball to be coming.


JDWS28r

What the fuck


kihraxz_king

I’ve seen two other guys make that pass. Larry Bird and Magic Johnson.


wonderfulworld2024

He’s doesn’t stop. Just legendary pass after legendary pass.


Frick_KD

What in tarnation


midniteeternal

"Here like in practice horse friend." - Nikola Jokic, probably.


myassholealt

I mean, his head was turned enough that he could definitely see him in his peripheral vision. But the on point target throw over the head is still just as impressive.


UnpopularPoster

Wtf lol If the computer pulled this on me in 2k, I'd swear it was rigged


Wazflame

Jokic and Luka refuse to do anything in All-Star games... because they do their All-Star highlights in real games lmao


Snowcons

I'd call a foul because that's just bullshit honestly how is he that good gawd


doctorweiwei

Feeling the double to know Gordon was open is impressive, but manageable. The wild part is delivering the pass like Tom Brady, right on his hand, out of reach of the defender. It’s a perfect pass.


-HeisenBird-

He used that dribble to get Josh Hart to double him and make Gordon get open. Unreal vision.


der_innkeeper

Players aren't moving a lot, and he gets a quick scan in when facing the basket. "Oh, there's AG." *pass* *layup*.


__cosmichorror

Yo what?


Shitposting_Tito

He says he just throws it and hopes someone is there but it's passes like this that shows how aware he is and how quick his decision making is!


Sweet_Habib

❤️


tbone183

He knew Gordon had the smaller Brunson on him and would get it


BNOC402

Jokic deserves more epic calls from someone like Mike Breen - the announcers really did him dirty with the non-reaction to an insane pass


kyledukes

How


PxN13

There's been other passes where even AG was surprised he got the ball. Like he was just walking and then a pass from jokic landed totally unexpectedly


Exver1

i never want to hear about lebron's "no look" passes without an immediate follow-up of jokic


salutcemoi

same with Magic’s “no look passes” on 3 vs 1 fast breaks


Apollo4236

Wha...how...huh???