Is Nikola Jokic the best passer ever? 

i’ll never understand how people say that jokic is boring, he’s a 6’11 270 guy that that doesn’t miss shots and creates passing and scoring opportunities out of thin air

The man has a top 10 passes compilation from ONE game. Absolutely ridiculous. Truly a special player.

Greg Popovich described him perfectly. He is just so good, it’s not fair everything he can do. And what I love the most is his unselfishness, I mean he could go for a scoring title every single season and average 30-35 ppg easily being the efficient scorer that he is, but he doesn’t care about his numbers and just wants to get his team going and win the game. He truly is one of a kind

His teammates must love playing with him. Willing passers like him make the game fun and foster positive atmosphere and chemistry. He is the reason Denver is doing so well right now.

He IS the definition of Most Valuable Player. Everybody gets better and the whole team reaches new levels with him on the floor

Nikola is something we’ve never seen. I hate that a lot of people are missing how great he is. Legend

Aaron Gordon averaged 13 points while shooting 45% before going to the Denver. He is now shooting 61% while scoring 17 points. It’s not because of his development on his games considering he already played 7 seasons in Magic. Nikola Jokic transformed his game to another level just by passing. Thanks to Jokic, Aaron Gordon went from inefficient jump shooter to one of the most dangerous rim attackers in nba right now. Pure greatness.

It's not even the passing... It's the VISION before the pass. Dude just doesn't miss anything. If a guy cuts and has a half-inch opening, Jokic sees it. Just amazing.

He's damn good. He really is a throwback to Magic/Bird to me, both insane passers as well, but in a way that's positionless. Just as Bird and Magic couldn't easily be pigeonholed as players, neither can Jokic. My late dad, who watched a ton of basketball his whole life, asked me early in Jokic's career, "Have you seen this guy Jokic for Denver?" A couple weeks later, Denver is on, so I look for this guy and call my dad and go "You mean this kinda doughy looking big guy? Looks like Greg Ostertag!" Well, I found out quick he didn't play like Greg Ostertag, lol. He's a one-off guy like Bird and Magic, and it looks like he's going to reach their heights, too.

Honest to god watching Jokic’s passing in this video made me cackle. Just so insane. I really hope that he wins at least one championship, he deserves it.

The reveal that this entire video full of highlight reel passes was from just this 27 game part of the season was quite the exclamation mark to this essay. Fantastic video.

It all comes down to his mentality. He said, "If I score, only I am happy. But if I pass and they score, two people are happy." He's the best TEAMMATE of all time.

It's so interesting to see how many opportunities Gordon has been getting since he started playing with jokic

Should have included a few of his full court quarterback type assists. Love the comparisons with Larry Bird.

Just like how Jokic unlocks Aaron Gordon's performance, Gordon also makes Jokic's game to a new height. They mastered the low post passing game together

I never realized how closely related some core skills (vision, passing) are in water polo and basketball until Jokic. He has changed the game.

Don't know about the best but he's working his way into the conversation with Bird and Magic. Looks like he's passing the best big men, Bill Walton and Arvytus Sabonis. Either way, it's great to see a player who plays the team game rather than the me-first, Michael Jordan, pass only when you're in trouble game.

Now that I think about it, I do believe Jokic is the greatest one-man offensive engine in the history of the sport. I mean when you look at the supporting cast he's had and how he always leads the Nuggets to a top 10 offense in the league, I believe no one ever has been as good as him at that end of the floor. Closest that I could think of would prolly be James Harden, but then again Harden's efficiency is pretty questionable, and he quite obviously benefited from Mike D's system which historically inflates the abilities of good playmakers.

Don't let his passing distract you from his 25pts/11boards on some of the most elite shooting splits in the league. No one is better than this dude on offense right now.

I literally love this video for the fact that it showcases Jokic's passes and reading of the game, something that a lot of NBA highlights still don't understand. This video focuses on what Jokic's game is really about: reading the game, NOT scoring, as somehow 99% of other highlights videos seem to focus on. I'd just like to say that. Thanks Thinking Basketball, you really are putting thinking back into basketball.

The league is crazy with all the HOF level talents. Night after night, game after game there is something amazing happening.

i'm only 7 mins into this video but i also think it's important to highlight how his teammates have been able to understand what he's able to do and to get into positions where he can pass to them. seems like it may take a lot of practice and trust for his passes to work. either way he's great.

It's heartbreaking watching his teammates brick shot after shot on his tremendous passes in the beginning segment.

i was at the memphis vs nuggets game, it was unreal. jokic’s passes along with the jeff green poster dunk were insane

This mans game seems so simple, but when you watch closely what he does you start seeing how complex it actually is. He is seeing plays and passes way earlier than anyone on the opposing team, his passing IQ is out of this world, like literally never seen. True greatness right there.

As a playmaker myself, would like to emphasize his skill on 5th pass based on your order. I think Joker took into account that Jaren J. Wasn’t looking back when he launched that pass, so he gave a very soft-landed bounce pass to Gordon, which was easier to receive. Had Jaren looked back and saw it was coming, I believe that Joker would launch a faster yet harder-to-receive back door pass. Just simply the fact that he took Jaren’s position into consideration, amazed me!😲👏🏼

Did I miss the discussion about John Stockton? Seems odd to omit the all time leader in assists.

His passing and scoring ability is the pure meaning of an MVP. He makes everyone in his team better! When he can keep up his level to the end of the season and Denver is ranked in the top 3 he derserves the 3rd MVP in a row!

It seems like one of the biggest things to learn from great passers to add to your own game is simply having the balls or the audacity to even make some of these passes.

Such a cool breakdown. Can you please do one on Giannis' playmaking? Feels like far and away the most underrated aspect of his game. Never really hear him discussed as an elite big man passer but he makes passes only a few can make (such as game winning assist to Grayson the other night against Toronto)

Another effect that probably comes from Jokic's passing is that it seems his teammates are much more willing to be active off-ball. Watching Denver play, his teammates are much more willing to run in transition, cut off ball and move. Knowing your star is going to hit you if there is any sort of opening makes it just makes it so much more worthwhile moving. It's why Denver constantly has some of the best offenses year after year with Jokic on and that guys who were known as limited offensive players before like Gordon and Bruce Brown are now having breakout seasons.

At 4:40 the one hander into 3 defenders, he slingshots the rock so hard it makes Poeltl flinch and not even put a hand up. Incredible delivery speed and timing

Awesome analysis as always. The one aspect of Jokic's passing and game overall that always stands out to me is his patience. Whether he's committing to a scoring opportunity, or just leveraging that ability to open up the floor for his teammates, every single move he makes has a purpose and never feels rushed. He only makes a play when he is good and ready once he sees that he can take advantage of the defense. Masterful.

Some of his passes are like "through balls," "square passes," "slide rule passes," and "diagonal balls" in soccer. All perfectly weighted.

The one thing that demonstrates his ability to hit the barely open man who is most often ignored is the foul that accompanies the shot. The defender is so caught off guard he has no alternative than to foul.

this was the first full game i've seen him play. i was thoroughly entertained. he's was making incredible plays all night

Just watching his Grizz highlights, Jokic may not have had a monster triple double in terms of metrics but he was just toying with them. That's how you dominate a team.

It is amaing to see new jewels on every new generation of players. I am more from Nash and Kid era, but this guy here, he is def. the best one of his generation.

Clearly the MVP of the league. Pretty sure Nuggets would not even be competitive without him. He is not only great individually, but makes everyone else great around him

My idea of an accomplished player is in the passing. His consciousness of where his teammates are is really astonishing. Makes the game so much fun.

Unbelievable play.. he does so many things right.. it’s been a long time to see the skill this player has.. so fun to see and watch.. love the results..

It's probably impossible to make a top 10 list of his career passes and be 100% happy about it. You'd have to leave tens, maybe hundreds of them out. Phenomenal baller.

I love how much Ben enjoys Jokic's passing, I feel like every Jokic vid on thinking basketball is like at least 70% jokic passing highlights, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I needed a video like this. I don't watch much NBA games apart from the highlights, and I could never understand why Jokic was so highly rated since he didn't have that "athleticism/highlights" factor like a lot of the other high-flying, posterize plays the other top dawgs possess.

Art .. rare feel , court vision , controlling pace an tempo , anticipation, velocity , touch , creativity .. the nuances an next level details to the great passers is what I wish was appreciated more .. truly a skill Jokic is in the class with the best of em.. not just best passing big ever .. that does a disservice to him He’s one of the all time passers period .. awesome video as always

those one handed touch passes have me wondering if he ever played any water polo.... crazy stuff

I've been watching the NBA since 1970, and Magic, Stockton and Nash were among my favorite players. But Jokic is definitely the best passer I've ever seen.

The man is simply great. I don't care whether he ever wins a championship. The man should just be appreciated for what he's doing.

Great work on the breakdown. The fact that it's from one game is almost unbelievable.

Magics passing was... magic... jokic is insane, but Magic was an absolute spectacle to watch.

I was thinking a couple days ago on how passing has changed in the NBA and anyone who goes back every 10 years will see the NBA has changed so much and that effects all aspects of the game. While the changes have been consistent the trend has been the same - more movement and spacing. That means that passers back in the day had on average smaller windows to pass the ball threw and while that is impressive making long passess is an art and has a skill on its own. Of course i have already made comments on how defenses have changed the way assist are made on an average. I have stated because mid range defenses are weaker many more assist are made of chaos buckets were someone breaks into FG range and so a mad scrambled leads to many more chaos assist than in past eras were many times assists were in the flow of the offense. If you look at the top assist guys many of them are throwing the balls at the craziest angles at the craziest time - their movements are even chaotic in making their passes as they try to take advantage of collapsing defenses! The crazy thing is NJ's passes are often not in chaos and he often is so methodical in patients and delivery it is as if he is a QB running an offense with precion and the right decision time after time.

Players who play slower have more time to look around. that's why players like jokic and alperen cover their slowness with awesome perimeter control features

Great video. Great breakdown of Jokic. Great run down of the best passers in history. Would have preferred a mention of all time assist leader Stockton in there too.

We take this type of players for granted. until it’s too late, appreciate greatness while it’s still here !

I am ex basketball player. After the first original Dream Team stopped playing i stopped watching basket. Jokic has brought smile on my face once again when i watch basketball game. He is just amazing.

Fantastic video, well done. Jokic is just unique, hell of a player!

The most unbelievable things about Nikola are the "top career assist compilation" ... at age 26 those are hours of unbelievable assists, and often most people need some commentary to understand the complexity of what's happening... he's comparable only to few years of Steve Nash apex in Phoenix or late Dallas, and, i think, most recent years of Lebron... he's literally the 6'11 reincarnation of pistol Pete, there's no CP3, no Jason Kidd, no Magic J. ,nobody who can handle the comparative, no mention to the fact he's doing that every single night since his rookie year

It's so rewarding seeing all the credit Jokic gets now. Nuggets fans spent 3 seasons telling everybody that would listen that this guy is SPECIAL. Still some holdouts, but the people that hate on Jokic are either trolls or don't know what they are watching. His greatness is undeniable and guys like Nick Wright are going to ride his coattails to a successful career in the media hating on him for the next 12 years.

He doesn't move that fast but he easily gets to his spot with good footwork.

This sorcery requires sky high levels of trust from all the Nuggets players. Players trusting Jokic to find them, and Jokic trusting the others to make the right cuts.

I've been watching him since 2015 and he never cease to amaze me!

He has the best hands, feet, and mind combo I have ever seen. Amazing touch with either hand, and astounding footwork. He might look "slow" but if you just watch his feet, you see his underrated athleticism.

This guy has the best touch ever, it's unbelievable and unguardable.

his no-looks are so much better than just flashy turning your head after you passed long after the play was already in the bag like the luka and labron examples. his not looking is what creates the openings.

This video is awesome! Really great insights and you provided a genuinely unbiased and fair look at some of the best players we know. Great watch.

What's great with this is his skill doesn't depend on athleticism and will probably age well throughout his whole career. We're just so blessed to see this for as long as we're able to and I don't think it's declining anytime soon.

I don't watch basketball, but you have convinced me. I feel that I might share this trivial knowledge if some bball discussion ever pops up in the future, wondering what others think of Jokic. GJ on the video. This seems to at least be more interesting of a talking point than talking about how Shaq overwhelmed with his power and size.

Jokic's extraordinary skills have seen Aaron Gordon improve his game immensely.

Since we are judging passes that lead to scores, also known as assists, I submit another name for consideration: John Stockton. He is the all time leader in assists. He has 3715 more assists than the second person on that list.

Love this. Jokic is from another planet. Also, everyone else named here is probably too. All of them unreal. In my world, a great pass is greater than a great score. I will make an exception. Jokic's shot in the last 24 hours was amazing.

Not only the best passer ever, but the greatest player ever.

For me personally, what makes him the greatest is just his large arsenal of passes. Sure Magic and LeBron they have no looks and drop passes but there's just some passes The Big Honey makes that NOBODY in basketball, past or present, would even think about trying. It's amazing how much he elevates his teammates, and for that he could win an MVP every couple of years and I think it'd be truly well deserved.

I think he's one of those players who's deceptively good, because he looks awkward, but has good court vision, excellent passing skills and is a good shot. Players who get their teammates involved are dangerous opponents

Agree totally. Best passer in the league any position and right there with the best passers ever. And he might be the best. Amazing too to see how adjusts and bends passes on the fly. Great video.

I don't really have deep knowledge of Basketball tactics on a high level, but in Football (soccer) this passing technique is used quite a lot by talented midfielders, the theory, in short, they don't target the player they want to pass to but the free space between the lines they anticipate the action before happening, and an advanced defensive team will always mark the spaces and not the attacking players.

This is an obvious statement, of course, but playing with a player like Jokic encourages movement, cuts, breakouts, etc. from his teammates because they actually get rewarded for doing so... which opens up Jokic to more passing opportunities... which rewards those players even more... and so on, just feeding back into each other. So awesome.

his coordination and size + strength lets him do things nobody else can. cross court passes must feel like a flick of the wrists. but he has amazing soft touch too to dail it back and make accurate passes easy. i bet he could sail a basketball 200ft if he wanted too

Its only when you watch Jokic that modern era folks like myself realize just how much of a lost art passing is. Its so hype. The NBA has many scorers, but this kind of passing is truly rare.

Wow this is a brilliant video + great analysis! It's fascinating to watch amazing passers. Best part of the game to me. Thanks for sharing 👏

I think out of any player, I always rewind Jokic clips the most by far

He is awe inspiring, but I'm not ready to vault him past Magic or Bird. And I will point out that Cousy is the grandfather of great passers. Would we even have a Magic if Cousy hadn't changed basketball so definitively? And there are a few others who dropped a few jaws in their day: Pistol Pete, Jason Williams, Rondo, Walton. All of the players you showcase and other great passers are what makes basketball exciting. Give me a great pass over a great dunk everytime.

the 1970s celtics had some of the best players ever.....with a few fabulous passers

I say he is pretty close but Luka has to be my favorite passer. His passes are unreal at times and sometimes seem like it should be a circus act.

I was watching the Serbian national team in the FIBA world cup and it was thing of beauty to watch, every player knew where everyone was at all times, and I was thinking, this is how basketball is supposed to be played, a team sport

6:08 HE DEFENDED!!!! THAT'S INSANE. Since Jok said, he knew, so he didn't jump.

Being a fan who grew up in the 80's, I have wondered if players like Bird or Magic be dominate in today's NBA. I guess I don't have to wonder anymore

He reminds me of a prime Bill Walton. Touching the ball on offense and defense every possession creating plays

We are so lucky to have him in Denver!

Spot on. Pending injury or massive fall off, at his current pace he's top 10 at least, likely top 5 offensively. And I'm not sure how anyone could be ranked higher than him currently.

You know, even if some people didn’t put him as the GOAT passer, him being in the discussion alone is enough. If someone says Player X is in the discussion with Magic, Bird, Lebron, Nash and Kidd, you know he’s in an elite company.

Never heard of this dude but damn, he's got one hell of an assist

It helps when you have a good supportive team. Joker is elevating the Nuggets as well.

This guy passes like Larry Bird..he's incredible

As a Sixers fan I wish people would appreciate Embiid and Jokic rather than fight about who’s better. Both are amazing players.

I always believed that practicing without dribbling encouraged an eyes up mindset and a more 'let the ball do the work' style of play.

I was thinking about this earlier. Magic is basically the consensus pick for the goat passer. But watching Jokic this season, i cannot help but think he has quite literally perfected the art of passing. It is ridiculous what he is able to do with the basketball. What is even more ridiculous though is that people still don't think he is as good as his statistics imply.

Crazy to think Jokic is a 2nd rd pick and now a back to back MVP and on the top in the race on his supposedly 3rd MVP award. Denver really needs to win a ring while Jokic is still on his prime.

I love his game and think he’s brilliant. You should compare him to Bird and Stockton. Do a comparison video on them and Jokic

Jokić has the largest repertoire of different passess out of any player I have seen in the last 30 years.

Jokic just posted his 6th straight post season game with a 30+ game-score, breaking MJs record of 5 straight. He also topped Jordan's record for highest average game score in a 5 and 6 game stretch in the post season. Currently, the greatest playoff run in hostory.