NBA Awards Insane Luka Doncic Pass For Assist of the Year
DALLAS — Luka Doncic tends to execute passes that seem impossible, but he somehow makes look easy. It's safe to say, he's solidified himself as one of the NBA's top high degree of difficulty passers as the centerpiece of the Dallas Mavericks' offense.
Whether Doncic is darting a no-look pass to the weak-side corner after drawing a low-man rotation, throwing a lob to a big, or making a deep kickout to a wing shooter by flipping a pass behind his head, his passing talent is special.
One of Doncic's top passes was selected for "Top Assist" among the 2023 NBA Fan Favorites. which included the top block, dunk, handle, photo, and style of the year. The pass that occurred during a 127-104 win over the Indiana Pacers, which featured him making a pass to Jaden Hardy in the weak-side despite being double-teamed by the defense.
On the play, Doncic had to save the ball from going out of bounds and quickly was met with a pair of Pacers defenders. As a player who tends to stay poised despite seeing a crowd, Doncic made a jump pass — somehow darting it with accuracy. He wasn't sure how he did it, but was glad it worked out.
"Probably one of the best passes I made was for me," Doncic said of the pass. "I'm just glad it went through."
The pass commanded the attention of LeBron James, who called the play "simply insane" in a quote tweet. It was one of those plays that commanded a significant amount of attention from many around the NBA.
After averaging 32.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 8.0 assists, Doncic was named All-NBA First-Team for the fourth consecutive season — tying Dirk Nowitzki for the most in Mavs history. He is now just one-of-four players to ever receive four All-NBA First-Team nods before turning 25.
Grant Afseth is a Dallas Mavericks reporter for DallasBasketball.com and an NBA reporter for NBA Analysis Network He previously covered the Indiana Pacers and NBA for CNHI's Kokomo Tribune and various NBA teams for USA TODAY Sports Media Group. Follow him on Twitter (@grantafseth), Facebook (@grantgafseth), and YouTube (@grantafseth).
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