On Sunday, in the final seconds of Game 4, with the Oklahoma City Thunder leading the Denver Nuggets by five points after free throws, Nikola Jokic requested the ball. Receiving the pass, Jokic attempted the longest shot of these NBA playoffs, a football-style heave from 81 feet. The shot fell short, missing the basket entirely, and wouldn`t have tied the game even if successful.
Despite the improbable nature of the situation, Jokic explained his attempt by saying it wasn`t strictly impossible for the Nuggets to force overtime. “Maybe they`ll foul me and maybe they`ll get a tech,” he told ESPN, adding, “You never know what`s going to happen.”
This long-distance miss further emphasized Jokic`s uncharacteristic three-game shooting slump and low efficiency during the series. However, attempting such improbable shots is typical for him. If there`s even a remote chance a shot could influence the game`s outcome, Jokic will take it, regardless of distance. This approach offers insight into the competitive drive of the three-time MVP, who consistently delivers historical production and efficiency while seemingly disregarding the modern NBA`s focus on statistics.
Jokic stated his philosophy simply: “I don`t care about the percentage,” he said. “I think every guy should shoot it. Why not? It`s an opportunity to score, so I will shoot it anytime.”
Subtracting these low-percentage heaves would significantly improve Jokic`s shooting percentages. Yet, he remains indifferent to protecting his statistics. “Nobody should care about that at this time of the year,” he scoffed after a high-scoring game where Denver still lost.
According to Basketball Reference, Jokic tied for the league lead in backcourt heave attempts in 2023-24, the season he won his third MVP. This season, his willingness to attempt these shots became almost an obsession; he attempted 22 in the regular season, the most recorded by any player in the 29 years the statistic has been tracked. His seven playoff heaves this postseason also far exceed any other player`s attempts.
Despite this, Jokic still achieved a career-best 41.7% from 3-point range this season. At times, his missed heaves were the *only* reason he wasn`t leading the league in 3-point percentage. Nuggets interim coach David Adelman commented, “Most great shooters care about their stats. Bottom line… For Nikola to shoot the percentage he shoots and still shoot those shots — because, hey, there`s a chance it goes in and a chance it wins you the game — just shows how unselfish he is in all ways.”
Jokic`s disregard for conventional basketball norms extends beyond shot selection. He was notably prepared when a league official discussed cracking down on time-wasting tactics. While these meetings are typically uneventful, Jokic had objections, later stating it wasn`t the most significant issue facing the league or officials.
Jokic himself is skilled in these “dark arts,” often pretending to fumble the ball or delaying inbounds to run valuable seconds off the clock, claiming he once “stole 25 seconds” on a possession. When the official mentioned the league`s intentions, Jokic immediately challenged him with hypothetical scenarios demonstrating alternative time-wasting methods he had already conceived.
Adelman confirmed, “He immediately had four other ways that were within the rules… He already knew. He had already thought about this. It`s all about just winning the game with him… finding a way to win a game.”
While these tactics are effective for winning tight games, they are counterproductive for padding statistics. Despite this, Jokic, at age 30, is already third in NBA history with 164 career triple-doubles, trailing only Russell Westbrook and Oscar Robertson.
He frequently finishes just one assist or rebound shy, occurrences dubbed “Sombor Doubles” after his hometown, with 64 such instances, 47 resulting in Denver wins. When asked how many more triple-doubles he might have without his time-wasting habits, he simply replied, “Who cares?”
Nuggets wing Christian Braun observed, “I think it`s funny, his stats are his stats and he doesn`t chase them. It`s just how good he is. It truly is his impact.” Jokic focuses intently on the game clock and score but disregards individual numbers.
Assistant coach Ogi Stojakovic stated players are forbidden from looking at stats during a game; it`s a task for the coaches. Yet, Denver`s coaches track Jokic`s stats with amusement due to their frequently historic or unprecedented nature, often falling into the “Not Since Wilt Chamberlain” category.
Assistant coach Popeye Jones collects Jokic-signed box scores from these memorable games, noting Jokic is sometimes genuinely surprised by his own statistics, asking, “What happened? What did I do tonight?”
Another anecdote highlights this mindset. With 0.3 seconds remaining in the third quarter of a late November game, too little time to catch and shoot normally, Jokic instructed teammate Peyton Watson to loft an inbounds pass high towards his right hand, similar to a post entry pass, but from the opposite side of the court near the block. Watson, confused, wondered about the plan. Jokic himself was improvising.
“I don`t know, can I just punch the ball?” he recalled thinking. “I think you can do that. So I was kind of trying to push/punch in the same moment. Just like, why not? What if it goes in?”
The attempt was officially recorded as a 71-foot jump shot, though it more closely resembled a volleyball serve. For a moment, the ball appeared destined to go in, ultimately missing the basket by mere inches. Watson remembered thinking, “Bro, if this goes in, I`m part of one of the greatest plays in history,” amazed at how close such an unconventional shot came to succeeding.
Jokic wanted to repeat such an attempt in early March after the Phoenix Suns scored with 0.2 seconds left in the first quarter. He signaled for the inbounds pass, but Michael Porter Jr. failed to deliver it correctly, dropping the ball by Jokic`s feet. Disgusted, Jokic bent over to pick it up, chunked the ball to the other end after the buzzer, slumped his shoulders, and muttered his frustration at being denied the chance at another extremely low-percentage shot.
“I did, I did,” he sheepishly admitted about pouting. “I think it`s an opportunity. Why not? It`s three points. It can be a game changer.”
While Jokic`s philosophy hasn`t yielded frequent successes from the backcourt – he is 2-of-50 in his career from that range in the regular season and 0-of-12 in the playoffs – he *has* made several shots from over 40 feet. Notably, his two backcourt makes this season were one-handed tosses: a 66-footer against the Sacramento Kings (“I knew it was in,” he said) and a 63-footer against the Utah Jazz.
According to ESPN Research, these were the two longest made shots in the league this season, making him one of only two players in the last 25 years with two makes from 60 feet or farther in a single season. This season alone, he attempted 12 shots longer than his 66-foot make, including four from 80 feet or more. He often fires immediately after securing a defensive rebound. The *possibility* of gaining three points, however remote, clearly holds more value for Jokic than preserving his shooting percentage.
Nuggets assistant coach Ogi Stojakovic referenced a Serbian belief: “basketball gods.” He explained, “If you play the game in the wrong way and if you don`t respect the game, basketball gods are going to punish. Same thing — if you play basketball in the right way, basketball gods are going to reward. So you try not to cheat the game. He`s trying to win every exact little margin.”