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Nikola Jokic Could Only Laugh After His Clutch Airball Set Up Aaron Gordon's Game-Winner

Nuggets star did not pretend it was a pass.

Kyle Koster

Nikola Jokic laughs about what his final shot attempt became.
Nikola Jokic laughs about what his final shot attempt became. / NBA
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Tied with the Los Angeles Clippers in the final seconds of regulation, the Denver Nuggets did exactly what everyone expected them to do—give the ball to Nikola Jokic so he could create something. And create he did, albeit in an unusual way as he tossed up an airball into the hands of Aaron Gordon who dunked it home to level their series with Los Angeles Clippers 2-2.

Lest there be any revisionist history, it was not a pass. Even though it ended up being the perfect pass. Jokic was shooting the basketball, and confirmed as much in the postgame when Gordon shouted him out for making a nice pass.

Additionally, Nuggets coach David Adelman immediately shut down any speculation that his future Hall of Famer somehow decided to risk having the clock expire before getting an attempt up on the rim.

Like Michael Scott, quoting Wayne Gretzky, said: you miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take and 0 percent of those can turn into the first buzzer-beating dunk in NBA playoff history. Jokic should be proud of tossing up one of the most clutch airballs ever.

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Kyle Koster
KYLE KOSTER

Kyle Koster is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated covering the intersection of sports and media. He was formerly the editor in chief of The Big Lead, where he worked from 2011 to '24. Koster also did turns at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he created the Sports Pros(e) blog, and at Woven Digital.

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