Kevin Durant shot and knocked down the middle cavalry in Georges Niang’s face, but the latter did not retreat. In one game, the Cleveland Cavaliers toured last year in a victory against the Phoenix Suns.
As the two returned to the other end of the court, Niang felt the need to say something.
“You need to shoot more three points!” Niang barked at Durant.
Durant, who used to hit the answer, hit Niang, “No, these guys around me need to shoot more threes, I need to play my game.”
Durant Mind the game Podcasts are because mid-range shots are good for him, not that he needs to create less efficient teammates for them to shoot. When he can get enough attention from the opposition, his teammates need to be ready to shoot.
Durant is one of the league’s greatest offensive talents ever, and his game has become synonymous with efficiency. Since 2011-12, he has shot less than 50% from the field, even 49.6%. In the middle distance, Durant has shot 49% from the field in each of the last nine seasons.
He is the eighth scorer of all time in the game, and James calls him the most capable scorer the league has ever seen.
But, does Nig have a point of view? Did the latest member of the Houston Rockets not shoot three?
Durant’s three-pointer volume
There is no argument Durant is always the best mid-range shot in his team. At the same time, though, as he is an excellent jump shooter from anywhere on the floor, the numbers suggest he may have been underestimated by his 3-pointer.
His career is 39% of three-point shooters, but his career averages only five attempts per game. LeBron James has only improved his own external shooting in the second half of his career and remains low in shooting efficiency than Durant’s level, with an average of 4.7 attempts per game per game. His career hit rate was 34.9%.
Durant’s average three-point attempt in his final season with the Oklahoma City Thunder was 6.7. Now one can understand whether the number hasn’t improved next to the likes of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson in Golden State, but it should have since.
Here is a graph from this season, comparing Durant to other forwards in the league last season. Durant is obviously a peculiar talent, but I want to play side by side with other strikers with a certain self-creation and see where he stacks from the 3-point range. With that in mind, I didn’t include people like OG Anunoby and Cameron Johnson.
Tatum is a great example of someone out of the comfort zone due to the work his team is trying to accomplish. Will he be willing to operate at mid-range distance? perhaps.
Brandon Ingram is another player who would rather operate in mid-range distance, despite the small sample size, he went out of his way to change his shooting spectrum and scored more three points this season.
Why does Durant have less 3-point shooting percentage?
The fact that Durant has the highest percentage in this group, but is the eighth in every attempt, tells a story. Both Brooklyn and Phoenix have stretching exercises, and he has to improve his gameplay. The Nets are notorious for not having Kyrie Irving during Covid, and the Suns didn’t prioritize point guards.
However, last season, the Suns did have Tyus Jones. They also tend to Booker more than Durant. The point is that Durant goes into mid-range, whether for playing or scoring purposes, is all the drawbacks of his opponent.
Durant’s shooting percentage was further broken down last season, with Durant shooting 48.4% (10-foot-3-point line). Tatum shot 17% of the shots there, James was 21.7%, and even Kawhi Leonard reached 36.4%. Just like Durant comes from mid-range, he is blocking his shooting spectrum because the situation is in the current state.
His shooting is so good that he has nearly the same 3-pointers as Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner in every game. He should have been nearly eight attempts per game. Heck, Durant and even Tatum should have a reasonable number of attempts.
Let’s dig further and look at some of the numbers as Durant left Golden State.
Durant’s 2024-25 shooting spectrum is different
As we have seen, this trend has even reached after last season. Even in five years, Durant was the second best in accuracy and still ranked eighth when it comes to trying.
His average score was further expanded within Durant’s shooting range and his shot scored nearly 45%. While he is right and should keep the mid-range shots difficult to suit the best players in the game like him, he shot nearly half of the balls from the area Effective His score.
Phoenix finished last season with the second highest frequency at mid-range (37.4%), behind the Sacramento Kings (38.6%). A large part of the King’s mid-range bias was provided by Demar DeRozan and considered the frequency at which he was criticized for his shooting spectrum.
Now, let’s consider that as a team, without a franchise, it’s 40% result. Cleveland and Boston were one of two best offenses, shooting about a quarter of the shot from the middle distance.
Can Durant’s shooting change with the Rockets?
In some ways, we think Durant makes the score seem easy. It seems ridiculous that he questioned how he was doing his business from the efficiency of various areas of the floor.
The Rockets will love having someone who can lubricate the lubricant when things get bad. On hot summer days, especially in the playoffs, this mid-range jumper will feel like a cool breeze of water. However, the absolute ceiling for this team, in a team lacking the threat of three-pointers, may boil down to his willingness to shoot from the depths.
When Steve Nash looked at Prime Minister Steph Curry and reflected on his career, he admitted that he should have shot more of the ball. When Durant’s time goes back, he may wonder if it would be any difference if he shoots higher.
In this way, Durant’s feet were suitable at one of the most critical moments in his career. In Game 7 of the semi-finals, this game has the potential to win Brooklyn against the Milwaukee Bucks as a three-pointer.
Durant’s biggest shot percentage to date is arguably his three-pointer in the Warriors uniform against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.
Hug three, Kevin, you’re so good.
