Welcome to The Passing Game, where we take the time to glorify the dimes being thrown all around us.
I dedicate this edition of the passing game to one play and one player. If you haven’t had a chance to see Denver Nuggets forward Nikola Jokic play, let this pass be your first indicator of what the 6-foot-11 Serbian is capable of.
Honestly, this might be one of the best passes I’ve ever seen. It’s a pass that people wish they could make. It’s a high-level feel pass. It’s an eyes-in-the-back-of-my-head pass.
Jokic rebounded his own miss and took a dribble on the baseline to retreat. The twist, and the unbelievable timing and reaction, comes when Jokic instantly realizes he has two defenders (Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol) drawn. In that split moment, he fired a pinpoint behind-the-back pass to Kenneth Faried, right past Gasol, for a lay up.
Not many people can pull off this pass, let alone a big man.
Another recent one from Jokic: