LOS ANGELES — NBA officials are investigating after Luka Dončić unveiled a new stepback jumper during an offseason workout that sent his defender approximately three months into the future.
Witnesses said Dončić dribbled twice, planted his left foot, and created so much separation that the defender disappeared from the gym entirely.
“He was standing right there,” said one trainer. “Then Luka stepped back and suddenly the guy was in November.”
The defender reportedly reappeared moments later wearing a different uniform and claiming the regular season had already begun.
Dončić calmly made the shot.
Basketball analysts immediately praised the move as perhaps the greatest example of shot creation in league history.
“James Harden created six feet of separation,” one analyst explained. “Luka has apparently discovered temporal separation.”
Footage of the move shows Dončić barely moving while the defender appears to accelerate backward through several weeks of training camp.
NBA referees reviewed the play for 23 minutes before determining they could not call a travel because technically the defender had traveled much farther.
League officials are reportedly considering new language requiring offensive players to remain within the same calendar year as their opponent.
Dončić, meanwhile, insisted the move was nothing special.
“I just step back,” he said.
Asked whether he could demonstrate it again, every defender in the gym immediately left.
