We think Nikola Jokic hit the longest shot in Nuggets history. Here’s the evidence.

Jan 24, 2025, 4:49 PM | Updated: 5:01 pm

Denver Sports Analyst

DENVER — Nikola Jokic hit one of the longest shots in NBA history on Thursday night during the Denver Nuggets’ 132-123 win over the Sacramento Kings, a lightning bolt from the other side of Ball Arena that swished through the net

Jokic took an inbounds pass from Aaron Gordon with a tick left in the third quarter and launched a shot from his own free-throw line. The NBA’s best three-point shooter by percentage this season cashed from 66 feet, according to the NBA’s game-night scorers. Upon review, Denver media members—including myself calculated the distance closer to 73 feet, which would rank as the eighth-longest bucket in NBA history. That updated figure has been confirmed by stat guru Todd Whitehead. But some on Reddit have calculated the shot to be as far as 78 feet. And it looks to be in very similar territory to LeBron James’ make which the NBA calculates at 83 feet, the fourth-longest make in league history.

we had it at a distance of 73'
max height of 28' pic.twitter.com/rgg0sw3Spn

— Todd Whitehead (@CrumpledJumper) January 24, 2025

Jokic’s shot put the Nuggets up by 25, but it proved crucial as the lead dwindled to just five with less than a minute left when Sacramento started intentionally fouling. The Nuggets’ eighth consecutive win with Big Honey in the lineup might have been in jeopardy if he hadn’t attempted and made a shot most players wouldn’t even try. He finished the game with a historic stat line of 35 points, 22 rebounds and 17 assists.

Jokic hit 12 of his 19 shots during the contest, including that heave—which Basketball Reference says was the first make of the 38 he’s taken from beyond halfcourt in his career. It’s crazy he’s even shooting these shots. Wikipedia says only 25% of NBA quarters even end with a guy attempting a heave. Most players will not shoot in order to save their percentage. Then there’s Jokic, who entered Thursday tied atop the league with Luke Kennard at 47.9% from deep. Yet Jokic leads the league in heaves taken. Both Kennard and third-best three-point shooter Domantas Sabonis haven’t taken a single shot from beyond half-court this year. Heck the NBA as a whole came into the evening with five makes from heave range.

So it’s rare anyone even shoots from beyond halfcourt, let alone inside their own three-point line. Even wilder is making it from that distance which instantly calls for a review of the record books.

Reviewing the record books of long NBA shots

Basketball Reference lists 33 makes from 66 feet or farther in their data, which goes back to 1996-97 and includes regular and postseason games. However, there’s at least one error in that set since a very normal 22-foot corner three from Derrick White in last year’s playoff is still called an 86-footer. And prodding around more, some of these makes are clearly from a shorter distance than Jokic, giving more credibility to the math done by others that the three-time MVP’s shot was actually from further.

In the same period, Basketball Reference says there have been 2,271 misses from 66 feet back or more. Giving shooters a staggering 1.432% make rate from that deep.

Nikola Jokic’s heaves

Before Thursday, the longest make of Jokic’s career actually came last month, when he pulled up from halfcourt just before halftime to hit a 40-footer in Atlanta. That just tops the 39-footer he hit a little more than a year ago to beat the Warriors at the buzzer. On shots longer than 41 feet, Jokic is now 1-for-45 in his NBA. If you discounted all those shots from beyond 41 feet, Jokic would have a career three-point shooting percentage of 36.7, a 0.7 percentage bump from his actual mark including all those heaves of 36%. This season alone, if you were to take away his league-leading 10 heaves and one make, his co-lead hit rate from deep of 47.9% would jump to 50.3%. Kennard hasn’t taken a single shot over 35 feet since the 2022-23 season. Sabonis has only taken one shot from beyond 33 feet in his entire career.

The longest shots in NBA history

This is far from a completely comprehensive list as tracking data only goes back to 1996-97 and as you’ve already seen, it’s unreliable for shot distance. The best list with the most research might just be what Wikipedia has:

1. 89 feet — Baron Davis. Hornets at Bucks. February 17, 2001
T-2. 84 feet — Norm Van Lier. Bulls at Spurs. January 19, 1977
T-2. 84 feet — Magic Johnson. Lakers vs Nuggets. April 23, 1987
4. 83 feet — LeBron James. Cavaliers at Celtics. January 3, 2007
5. 81 feet — Herb Williams. Pacers vs Kings. January 8, 1986
6. 79 feet — Ziaire Williams. Grizzlies at Suns. January 22, 2023
7. 77 feet — Zoran Planinić. Nets vs Jazz. November 9, 2005
8. 73 feet — Nikola Jokic. Nuggets vs Kings. January 23, 2025
T-9. 72 feet — Vince Carter. Grizzlies vs Timberwolves. February 19, 2016
T-9. 72 feet — Darius Miller. Pelicans at Warriors. April 28, 2018

Longest shots in Nuggets history

According to Basketball Reference, the longest shot in Nuggets history during tracking data days came from Andre Miller on April 2, 2006, when he supposedly connected from 74 feet during a playoff game. But in reviewing the video, Miller is clearly mostly above the three-point line and jumps forward. He also seems to be closer to the center of the court, which places him approximately a step forward and a step closer to center court than Jokic was on Thursday. The second-longest shot in Nuggets history per the site is a make from Keon Clark on Jan. 14, 2000. That shot ended a first quarter at what is now Ball Arena and was taken almost directly from the Nuggets’ own elbow. Again it seems that Jokic was from a longer distance.

The third-longest make in Nuggets history came from D.J. Augustin, also marked at 66 feet. If the distance on that is right, Jokic is definitely into the 70s with his. On the same floor and in high definition, on April 5, 2016, Augustin hits from his own hash mark, a few steps ahead of Jokic on Thursday. Heck, even Ty Lawson’s 63-footer is about the same length as Augustin’s but from more dead-on, making it for the fourth-longest shot in team history going into Thursday.

The funniest part of the Augustin video is that Jokic is on the bench smiling from ear to ear and cheering on his teammate. When Jokic made his own miracle, he stayed stone cold.

I know for sure that 66 feet is far shorter than where Jokic actually hit that shot from. I can pretty confidently say Jokic’s shot was the longest in the known history of the Denver Nuggets. And it’s for sure one of the 10-longest shots in recent NBA history. If you want to add or subtract a foot, whatever—as for where exactly it ranks, I settle at eighth.