'Jokic has never even passed the ball to an All Star!'- George Karl implies Nikola Jokic is a better passer than Magic Johnson

George Karl loves to troll and sometimes terrorize the basketball world with savage opinions on his social media account. His latest take is neither, but it can spark a potentially divisive conversation. According to the 2013 NBA Coach of the Year, Nikola Jokic is a better passer than the universally recognized best point guard of all time, Magic Johnson.

"Magic was passing to Kareem and other Hall of Famers! Jokic has never even passed the ball to an All Star!!" Karl stated in an X post.

No All-Star teammates

At first glance, comparing The Joker's passing abilities with Magic's would be preposterous, but the 73-year-old veteran coach is right. Johnson won five titles in the '80s, primarily because of his talent and because many of his teammates have Hall-of-Fame resumes. The three-time Finals MVP could dump the ball inside to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and had the luxury of having Michael Cooper and James Worthy filling the lanes. Then, there was Bob McAdoo and Jamaal Wilkes.

On the other hand, the Serbian big man never had any All-Star teammates during his 10-year career. Jamal Murray's playoff performances were phenomenal, but the Canadian guard never had a season worthy of an All-Star spot. Paul Millsap, Jokic's frontcourt mate for four seasons, was named to four All-Star teams, but these came right before he went to the Mile High City.

Thinking about this fact put things in perspective. Johnson led the Association in dimes per game four times and averaged 11.2 over his career. On the other hand, Jokic averaged at least nine dimes in the past three seasons, but considering he never had an All-Star teammate to finish plays for him, his playmaking is phenomenal.

Joker overtakes Magic on the all-time triple-doubles list

Interestingly, Jokic recently achieved another incredible statistical milestone at the expense of the Los Angeles Lakers great. The Denver Nuggets center compiled his 139th triple-double in a loss to the Cavs last Thursday, edging Magic for third overall in the list. Only Russell Westbrook and Oscar Robertson have more.

That said, the gap will only widen from there. "The Big Honey" is still 29, and a lot of games to go. He already has nine triple-doubles in 17 outings, which projects around 30 more for the rest of the season. When all is said and done, Joker has a legitimate shot of sitting atop that mountain, as Westbrook is already 36 years old.

What makes Joker an elite passer?

Despite similar all-around games, the way Jokic and Johnson get their assists numbers are very different. Magic loves to run the fastbreak during the Showtime Era, which gave him many opportunities to spoon feed streaking teammates on the break. On the other hand, Joker's anticipation in half-court sets is something unprecedented.

"He anticipates situations two and three steps ahead. People don't understand; before the situation happens, he can predict it," said Nuggets assistant coach Ognjen Stojakovic.

Lakers superstar LeBron James echoed the same sentiment after the Nuggets swept the Lakers in the 2023 Western Conference Finals. Former Denver teammate Reggie Jackson also raved about Jokic's superhuman ability to see things before they happen.

The entire basketball fandom has seen Jokic's cerebral brilliance on the hardwood for years now, but there is never one satisfying answer on how he could do what he does. Magic was exceptional in his own way, but he was 6'9 and could see over his matchup. He had physical advantages that Jokic did not, not to mention a slew of All-Star teammates.

"I think that it's something that we normal people can never comprehend or understand how it's possible," said Nebojsa Vagi, Nikola's godfather. "For him, it's very simple. But for all others, it's a never-ending story in trying to understand."