this post was submitted on 10 Nov 2023
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Man, I say Jokic is the greatest passer of all time but I always get absolutely hated by many for it.
Like Jokic can literally just stand there doing nothing for the whole time and can get a highlight pass of an assist in a manner nobody expects and nobody see it coming. Whereas LeBron and Magic for example are great passers as well but at most time it’s also their ability to create shot for themselves, the drive and kick, and transition that generates a lot of their assists. In passing, and purely in passing only, Jokic is so effortless in generating them because a lot of times he just only stands still, scans, and all of a sudden he has an assist.
Saying Jokic is the greatest passer of all time is like saying Curry was the greatest shooter of all time in like 2013 lol.
People really don't want to hear it, even if it's true, they are too nostalgic over their favorite players from eras past.
I'm with you on Jokic as an all time passer but I think it's wrong to say he does nothing or is just scanning and then gets a pass out of nowhere. That's certainly how it looks but a lot of comes as a result of fooling defenders with his eyes or directing his teammates where to go, sometimes possessions in advance. And especially nowadays, teams are very much reacting to his dominant ability to score which opens up more passing options as a result. It's pretty hard to evaluate passing in isolation to a players other skills sometimes because in theory a player could be the best passer in the world but if they're not good enough as a dribbler/scorer/shooter, you might never see it because they rarely generate an advantage. So ironically, as Jokic has gotten better as a scorer, I've been somewhat less impressed with him as a passer because it's easier now.
That all said, I remember thinking even in 2018 or 2019 that he was the best passer I've ever seen in terms of the creativity and the advantages he creates with his passes, and it's cool to see consensus approach that.
One other thing that's interesting to me about thinking about passing as opposed to most other skills over time is that there are ways in which it's gotten much easier, as teams take more threes and players are much more spread out on the court. Magic could pinpoint passes to teammates in the paint even with 7 or 8 other guys in there and nobody has to do that anymore.
It’s because Jokic can’t provide rim pressure like those guys lol, and as the guy above me pointed out Lebron used to similarly run the offense out of elbow sets.
I'm going to spam this thread with Magic highlights. Have you never seen any Magic highlights? Its chock full of them int the post making amazing interior and kick-out passes.
Magic Johnson existed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdHRCL0kM7M
While these are amazing, they are clearly a step below Jokic’s. Please go watch Jokic passing highlight. I feel like Jokic gets half of Magic type assists on a nightly basis.
Least biased jokic Stan
I'm sure Magic was doing this on a nightly basis as well. I watch plenty of Jokic, Magic's passes in just one video are on his level. He was also doing it when this type of passing didn't exist. There's something to say about someone revolutionizing the game.