NBA Finals 2023

Jokic shot 63.2% from the floor during the regular season, a figure typically seen only from centers whose shot diet consists primarily of dunks and putbacks, despite frequently taking jumpers and floaters that are considered tough shots for even the purest of sharpshooters.

According to NBA.com tracking data, 727 of Jokic's 1,022 field goal attempts during the regular season qualified as tightly contested. He made a preposterous 64.6% of those shots. Jokic's efficiency has dipped a bit during this playoff run but remains elite, particularly for a player averaging 30.5 points, 13.4 rebounds and 10.1 assists. He's shooting 54.6% from the floor and 57.7% on tightly contested shots, several of which have been some variation of Nowitzki's one-legged jumper and many coming with just seconds remaining on the shot or game clock.

In Jokic's mind, there's a benefit to having the ball in a situation where he needs to beat the buzzer. It eliminates any hesitation Jokic, a pass-first big man averaging a triple-double during the playoffs, might have to let it fly. All he has to do from there is figure out how to get up a shot, which often results in unorthodox releases.

"It's so easy to shoot when you know you've got to shoot it, so you just find a way to shoot it," Jokic said after sweeping the Lakers, recalling a possession late in Game 4 when he was called for a charge after driving instead of taking an open 3.

"Being off balance -- I'm off balance my whole life, so that's kind of normal for me."

Nowitzki's one-legged fadeaway is such an iconic shot that it's honored both inside and outside Dallas' American Airlines Center. Silhouettes of the shot have been featured on the Mavericks' floor -- located in the midrange areas above the right blocks, one of his favorite spots -- since the season following Nowitzki's retirement after 2018-19. A nearly 24-foot white bronze statue of the shot was unveiled in the plaza in front of the arena on Dec. 25 this season.

Nowitzki's fadeaway was always launched off his left leg. The Sombor Shuffle, which Jokic developed in 2017 during shooting workouts while recovering from a sprained left ankle, is launched off his right foot.

"It's just something that works for him," Nowitzki said. "I never liked shooting off that right foot on that one. I thought I felt it was super hard for me just to coordinate. It was easier off the left foot, but it actually looks pretty smooth for him off the right leg.

"There's no way to get to it [as a defender] 'cause he's also 7 feet and moving away from the defender on that shot. It's just impossible to get to."

Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant, one of several players in the league who has incorporated Nowitzki's one-legged fadeaway into his arsenal, said with a mix of admiration and disdain that he "hates" when Jokic hits such unorthodox shots.

"It's like, 'Oh yeah, that's a miss,' and then it goes straight in," Durant said after Jokic scored 53 points in the Nuggets' Game 4 loss in Phoenix, a performance highlighted by several tightly contested jumpers and floaters launched with unconventional angles and footwork. "He's incredible."

Nowitzki's fadeaway off the left foot has become part of Jokic's repertoire, along with all sorts of feathery midrange shots set up by unique footwork.

"He has the balance," Nowitzki said. "He's got the touch for it. He's got the high release point. He's got all the things you need to shoot that shot well. He found that.

"Obviously he's not the fastest, most athletic guy. It's not as easy to keep driving by people and grind all the time. That's just the shot that he can get off at any time, and he makes it look super easy."