Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hasn’t been an elite 3-point shooter over the last few seasons, but he hasn’t needed to be. The Thunder’s superstar point guard has cruised to 30-point averages without a reliable outside jumper and has figured out a way to score in bunches.
It feels like a knockdown 3-point shot is the last thing needed to complete his game, and shades of that are starting to flash through. Gilgeous-Alexander has been a sniper from deep, and his averages are creeping up to his early days in Oklahoma City.
In his second year with the Thunder, Gilgeous-Alexander shot 41.8% from long range. After the 2020 season though, his shooting percentages dipped as his rise to stardom continued. 2021 was the low-point, as he shot just 30% from the outside.
Slowly but surely though, it has been back on the rise. Last season there was slight improvement at 34.5%, and after a slow start, it’s spiking up again.
Over the last 15 games, Gilgeous-Alexander is shooting 53.5% from 3-point range on 2.9 attempts per game. His step-back is falling at a high rate and he’s comfortable stepping into open looks.
The percentages pop off the page even more over the last 10 games. It’s admittedly a small sample size, but the efficiency is striking. He’s knocking down 63% of his triples during that stretch.
His ability to knock down the deep ball helps the Thunder’s offense tremendously. His step-back 3-pointer with the shot clock running out has become Oklahoma City’s bailout shot. And over the last half month, its been falling more times than not.