Did Nikola Jokić get away with the biggest travel in NBA history on Monday night, or did he make a brilliantly-timed pass?
Late in the third quarter of the Denver Nuggets’ wild comeback win over the Philadelphia 76ers, Jokić was dribbling down the floor and found JaMychal Green for a layup. It was a nice play. But Jokić’s transition from dribbler to passer was — let’s just say — awkward.
https://twitter.com/MrMatthewCFB/status/1503542246800564225
Travel or no travel from Jokic?#NBATwitter #MileHighBasketball pic.twitter.com/7z0tsmqaYS
— 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧' 𝐍𝐁𝐀 (@_Talkin_NBA) March 15, 2022
So, was it a travel? The opinion of those watching wasn’t unanimous.
That Jokic pass was not a travel
— Esfandiar Baraheni (@JustEsBaraheni) March 15, 2022
that was not a travel by Jokic…he only took two steps after the gather
— Sandeep Singh Chandok (@sandeepchandok) March 15, 2022
That’s one opinion. The overall opinion, though, was different.
Coming out of the play, the general feeling is that Jokić and the Nuggets got away with one.
Jokic just got away with the biggest travel I’ve ever seen in my life lol
— Ky Carlin (@Ky_Carlin) March 15, 2022
https://twitter.com/OTR2Victory/status/1503543063108595719
Jokic travel too obvious 😂
— Kayla Santiago (@kayla_santiago1) March 15, 2022
It’s not a travel if it’s also art, please respect Jokic’s artistic license.
— JR Radcliffe (@JRRadcliffe) March 15, 2022
It’s a tough call. For years, the NBA has liberally enforced traveling. In recent years, it’s even changed some rules on what traveling is. So, it’s rare that you’re going to get a consensus opinion on a no-traveling call.
The play was anything but smooth. That much can’t really be debated. And had a travel been called, the Nuggets and their fans wouldn’t have had much of an argument. But given the way that traveling is (or is not called), it’s not especially surprising that the referees swallowed their whistles here. But we’d advise that Jokić not push his luck in similar situations going forward.
