Three-Point Shooting
With the evolution of point guards in the modern NBA and with where they are positioned on the floor the majority of the time, looking at three-point proficiency and efficiency is another mark where it’s intriguing to see how Russell measured up.
Looking at the rookie class, Russell ranked No. 1 in both 3-point shots made and taken.
Russell reigns supreme in three-point land among his rookie peers—at least in terms of made threes.
Devin Booker and Russell wound up at the top of the rankings for both thee-point shots attempted and made, but Russell was even shockingly more efficient than many of his peers as well.
Glaringly obvious here is that Russell attempted 81 more three-point shots than Booker and it makes sense that Russell would have made more shots. But if you look at the percentages, Russell shot 35.1 percent while Booker made only 34.3 percent of his attempts from deep.
What’s more interesting is that Russell made an average of 1.6 three-point shots per game, while Booker made 1.3 and Porzingis 1.1 per game. Though Russell ranked well among rookies, he paled in comparison to league leaders as Steph Curry averaged 5.1, Klay Thompson 3.5, and Kevin Durant 2.6. Russell’s 1.6 average equals Kawhi Leonard and Dirk Nowitzki‘s average.
The Lakers have themselves a legitimate three-point shooter. He came in at No. 33 overall in the League behind No. 30 Kobe Bryant making just three more at 133.
While having the deep threat is big for the Lakers, they also need Russell to be a more versatile scorer than just that. Therefore, let’s look at his overall field goals made.
Next: Overall Scoring