After the Suns' win over the Nuggets in Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals, Kevin Durant was left in awe. When asked about Phoenix's defensive effort on Nikola Jokic, who had 53 points on 20-of-30 shooting from the field in the loss, Durant shook his head and offered two words: "He's ridiculous."
"I feel like all of those shots were easy shots," Durant said. "He just plays the game at a pace that you can't speed him up, fluster him. He's strong. He can make every shot. I hate it when he makes shots because he's so unorthodox.
"It's like, 'Oh yeah, that's a miss,' and then it goes straight in. He's incredible."
Durant isn't the only player who hates to see Jokic's shots drop through the bottom of the net. The two-time MVP has been frustrating defenders for years with his elite touch, impeccable footwork and unusual release angles.
There is no better example of Jokic's unique skill set than his signature move, which has become known as the "Sombor Shuffle."
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What is Nikola Jokic's 'Sombor Shuffle'?
Nuggets play-by-play announcer Chris Marlowe coined the term "Sombor Shuffle" to describe the move because Jokic is originally from Sombor, Serbia. It is similar to Dirk Nowitzki's famous fadeaway, but there are some slight differences between the two moves.
On a typical "Sombor Shuffle," Jokic will take a dribble, load up on his right leg and let a rainbow jumper fly toward the rim. While he does float backward on the shot, his body will often stay perfectly straight on the release.
Nikola Jokic hits the stepback jumper to put the @nuggets ahead for good! pic.twitter.com/fMgJjz7ya1
— NBA Fantasy (@NBAFantasy) February 6, 2020
Nowitzki, on the other hand, typically pushed off his left foot. His body would be much more slanted, creating extra space and making the shot impossible to block.
How did Nikola Jokic create the 'Sombor Shuffle'?
Back in 2017, Jokic was dealing with a left ankle injury. As he was working out at the Nuggets' practice facility, he realized that he didn't need to shoot off two feet.
"It was kind of painful to jump with both legs, and I kind of started jumping with the right leg. And the ball was going in," Jokic told Rachel Nichols. "I said, 'Maybe I can use this.' It's been working since then."
A conversation with Nikola Jokic on his journey from being the 41st pick in the draft with - in his words - "the worst-conditioned body in the NBA," to the favorite to win MVP. Plus: the origins of his signature moves & how he still misses drinking a gallon(!) of Coca-Cola a day: pic.twitter.com/s0ZatTdUOE
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) May 1, 2021
How effective is Nikola Jokic's 'Sombor Shuffle'?
The simple answer: It's extremely effective.
ESPN's Kirk Goldsberry tracked Jokic's 103 "Sombor Shuffle" attempts during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons. He found that Jokic shot 51.5 percent over that stretch when using the "Sombor Shuffle."
To put that number in perspective, an average NBA player would have hit just 32 percent on similar attempts, per ESPN's data.
The "Sombor Shuffle" may look awkward, but there is no arguing with the results.
