Nikola Jokić and best Bigmen passers of all time

[Ugly Duckling]

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[MrBigShot]

Jokic is one of the best passers in the league, not merely among big men, much like Sabonis which is really impressive. Good to see them leading the poll.

And as good as he could be better. He's underutilized.

[Sir Psycho Sexy]

When I played basketball here in elementary and high school, every player played every position in practice and everyone practiced the same things for about 80% of the time and as far I saw, it was like that pretty much everywhere.

That has both good and bad sides but it certainly leads to some unique skills. Outside of Jokic's passing, now in NBA you can see that both Bogdanovics (Bojan and Bogdan) as well as Teodosic know how to play in a low post, Dario Saric and Bjelica can do anything on a court (not saying they're amazing at everything)...

[Mickey8]

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Good passer but clearly not on Jokic's level.

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One of the example from the last game 0:22, how many players in the league can execute perfect no look pass like that , his vision is insane

[NikosTheGoat]

people on this "he's an all-time great" stuff...watch a couple nuggets games

[THE J0KER]

This young coach specialized for playmakers made a very good analysis about Nikola Jokic unique passing skills among centers.

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[lobosloboslobos]

Look at those shotblocking and steal numbers tho (2,4 blocks 2,6 steals 34 MPG). Guy was a machine, if only he joined Portland when he was drafted...

I can agree with that, he is better in everything during these prime days than during his veteran NBA days - except in assists/passing. Which is some kind of irony if we know what is subject of this thread.

The thing is Sabonis never had a prime. His injuries began when he was 21 and got progressively worse when he was messed up by the Soviet doctors who pressured him to play in international tournaments before he was healed. He never regained his former mobility and as a result never reached his real potential. The best indicator of what might have been is him before his injuries.

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[UcanUwill]

Look at those shotblocking and steal numbers tho (2,4 blocks 2,6 steals 34 MPG). Guy was a machine, if only he joined Portland when he was drafted...

I can agree with that, he is better in everything during these prime days than during his veteran NBA days - except in assists/passing. Which is some kind of irony if we know what is subject of this thread.

The thing is Sabonis never had a prime. His injuries began when he was 21 and got progressively worse when he was messed up by the Soviet doctors who pressured him to play in international tournaments before he was healed. He never regained his former mobility and as a result never reached his real potential. The best indicator of what might have been is him before his injuries.

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He never was that athletic, I think his legend is highly exaggerated. His body failed him, because that pure skill level was all time great material for sure, but he never got there, or it was very short lived. Doctors said that his injuries were career ending and that he will never play again. That was before he joined NBA. But the guy managed to produce another 10 years of very high level ball basically with no achilles and messed up knees. Just speaks volumes of his skill level.

[lobosloboslobos]

I can agree with that, he is better in everything during these prime days than during his veteran NBA days - except in assists/passing. Which is some kind of irony if we know what is subject of this thread.

The thing is Sabonis never had a prime. His injuries began when he was 21 and got progressively worse when he was messed up by the Soviet doctors who pressured him to play in international tournaments before he was healed. He never regained his former mobility and as a result never reached his real potential. The best indicator of what might have been is him before his injuries.

Watch on YouTube

He never was that athletic, I think his legend is highly exaggerated. His body failed him, because that pure skill level was all time great material for sure, but he never got there, or it was very short lived. Doctors said that his injuries were career ending and that he will never play again. That was before he joined NBA. But the guy managed to produce another 10 years of very high level ball basically with no achilles and messed up knees. Just speaks volumes of his skill level.

7'3" with Wilt-like power and could hit the 3 and make great passes but yeah exaggerated.

[Witzig-Okashi]

I don't believe that I saw this play on here from Jokic, so I'll post it:

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As others have stated, what makes his passing ability so special is that he can function as a de facto facilitator of a team, akin to how Joakim Noah did during the "No-Show-but-the-Front-Row" Rose Bulls era, or T-Wolves KG (1st stint obviously) but can also make uncanny passes akin to a Sabonis. His vision is incredible, and I wish I had the access to watch more Nuggets games. He very well is on his way to becoming the GOAT passing bigman, especially when considering his age, and he is certainly the best passing big of this decade.

[NuggetsWY]

This young coach specialized for playmakers made a very good analysis about Nikola Jokic unique passing skills among centers.

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Best analysis of Jokic's passing that I've ever seen. Thanks for sharing this one for sure!

[Ignitowsky]

the ignorance and ongoing lack of respect that this board has for Wilt Chamberlain is beyond comprehension. Wilt averaged Choice Smitty assists in his career than Sabonis did, and later in his career when he decided to be less of a score and more of a facilitator he had two seasons in which he averaged over eight assists per game. The season that he had 8.6 assists-per-game he led the league in that category. It's just mind-boggling how he continuously gets ignored buy today's average basketball fan who wasn't alive when he played.

[Mickey8]

Its not just about amount assist player average per game , there is also the way they are delivered, versatility , Jokic can deliver all kind of assists from every angle on the court , even when he's doubled or tripled by the opponents , that's why he's regarded as one of the best passers at C position of all time already .

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This video is good too.

[GopherIt!]

no George Mikan?

[GopherIt!]

I never watched Sabonis play but he never averaged more than 3 assists per game in his career. Not just NBA but also in Europe. So i don't get why people consider him the best passing big of all time. Jokic at 21 was getting more assists than he did his entire career.

Because the game had evolved and you have to look at context. Defenses used to be way more physical and there was hand checking.

Stat keepers also used to be a lot stingier. I'm no Jazz fan but I remember Stockton frequently getting shorted due to the Mailman effect. Today, assists are handed out like candy.

[LuDux1]

Look at those shotblocking and steal numbers tho (2,4 blocks 2,6 steals 34 MPG). Guy was a machine, if only he joined Portland when he was drafted...

I can agree with that, he is better in everything during these prime days than during his veteran NBA days - except in assists/passing. Which is some kind of irony if we know what is subject of this thread.

The thing is Sabonis never had a prime. His injuries began when he was 21 and got progressively worse when he was messed up by the Soviet doctors who pressured him to play in international tournaments before he was healed. He never regained his former mobility and as a result never reached his real potential. The best indicator of what might have been is him before his injuries.

Watch on YouTube

Obligatory reminder that Sabas played then he shouldn't have played for Zalgiris too, which leads me to believe pressure from doctors had little to do with it
As for athleticism he was 2nd fastest player in Zalgiris in 100 meter dash and www.infinitelooper.com/?v=2NJjmkJTxBU&p=n#/288;294

[Mickey8]

These are his stats from the last 10 games , he's two assist shy of averaging triple double.

Previous 10 Games 32.8 .508 10.8 8.4 0.7 0.8 2.7 18.7

[THE J0KER]

These are his stats from the last 10 games , he's two assist shy of averaging triple double.

Previous 10 Games 32.8 .508 10.8 8.4 0.7 0.8 2.7 18.7

One of most amazing facts is that in half (50%) out of all matches this season where Jokic achieved 9+ assists, he has just one or even zero turnovers!? For triple-double leaders, Westbrook and LeBron (together), such things happen this season in only 4.6% cases when they achieve 9+ assists (in 3 out of 66 matches).

[Latrell]

Jokic is the most underrated player in the league . Period

[TheFire]

Can we get this man on Lebron's team in the all star game?