As soon as he saw how the Clippers were set up, Nikola Jokic recognized the play call.

First, Jokic made a snake-like in-and-out movement with his right arm, signaling to Aaron Gordon that Kawhi Leonard would use a James Harden screen to get up the floor and catch the inbound pass.

He then moved Michael Porter Jr. into position and told him where to stand while covering Norman Powell, the Clippers’ inbounder on the play, in order to force Leonard to catch the ball farther away from the hoop.

Jokic skipped across the paint, cut off one side of the floor, and did everything he could to push Leonard to shoot a pull-up, contested fadeaway jump shot from 15 feet once he received the ball.

Of course, Jokic was perfectly placed to rebound Leonard’s miss.

Following Denver’s 111-108 victory, DNVR questioned Aaron Gordon about the sequence.

Did the Nuggets know what play the Clippers were about to run and how it would be executed?

“Joker just knows,” Gordon explained.

Jokic recognized the play based on how the Clippers were positioned.

“They have a similar play for Norman Powell,” he went on to say.

It’s in these moments that Jokic’s basketball brilliance shines through. On the hardwood, he’s Albert Einstein. He’s like Leonardo da Vinci, but with a basketball.

Reggie Jackson will not take playing with Jokic for granted.

“Watching his mind just work over and over again, the way he works and just takes over the game physically but really mentally,” Jackson added. “It’s special.”

Jackson signed as a free agency with the Nuggets late last season and has started the last four games alongside Jokic, who is out with a hamstring strain. He knows how rapidly Jokic’s mind works.

It’s not the first time he’s seen Jokic read an opponent’s play call and predict what’s going to happen in real time. Jackson remembers Jokic recognizing, reading, and breaking up a New Orleans play set for Brandon Ingram in the Nuggets’ 134-116 win over the Pelicans earlier this season.

According to Jackson, Jokic calculated when to throw the knockout punch as well.

“It was an A.I. cut for Brandon Ingram coming to the left wing, and Jok grabs it and steals it,” Jackson went on to say. “This is in the fourth quarter.” You can tell his mind is constantly working. He can make a big play, but it seemed like he waited until they couldn’t recover from the big play he made.”

The game seemed to be flowing at a slower pace for Jokic.

He had a subpar night by his standards against the Clippers on Tuesday, but he still finished with 32 points, 16 rebounds, and 9 assists. Jokic’s 8-23 shooting performance was a departure from his exceptional offensive efficiency this season.

Jokic has somehow improved on his performance from previous year.

On the season, he’s averaging 30 points on 57.9% shooting, a league-high 13.9 rebounds, and 8.4 assists per game. He’s playing a dominant, overwhelming, and overpowering kind of basketball that his opponents find incredibly deadly.

On defense, he anticipates opposing play calls faster than ever before.

This season, there has been no denying him, and no one is taking it for granted.

“When you have something special, you have to enjoy it, because you never know how long you’re going to have it, and when it’s gone you will truly miss it,” Jokic said in a statement. “So, I’m just enjoying being his teammate, enjoying how easy he makes the game, enjoying playing as his teammate but also being able to watch him as we’re playing.”