The NBA has seen its fair share of great passers over the years. When you think of legendary assist men, there are a few names that immediately come to mind: Pistol Pete Maravich, Magic Johnson, Jason Williams, LeBron James, John Stockton, Steve Nash, and so on and so forth.
They all have a few things in common: The ability to see the court in a way others simply can’t, a knack for anticipating what’s going to happen two or three seconds before they do, and the ice-cold self-confidence to try something out that most players would never dream of.
Now, we can safely add Luka Doncic to the list of all-time great passing wizards after this unbelievable assist against the Blazers on Friday night. Go ahead and take a moment. You may need to play it back a few times before you can fully process what actually happened here.
LUKAVISION
pic.twitter.com/MIoOxj7NR2
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) March 20, 2021
After weaving his way into the lane against Robert Covington, Luka appeared to raise up for a contested mid-range jumper, but in a split second while he was still aloft, effortlessly flipped a pass backward over his head to a waiting Tim Hardaway Jr., who knocked down the open three.
It’s not a stretch to say this might be the best pass of his young career, which has already been filled with highlight-reel of unbelievable assists. On a night when the NBA was set to be overshadowed by the NCAA Tournament, Luka reminded us what the next level looks like.