Which NBA Big Men Have Started Shooting Threes This Season?
7-foot Brook Lopez randomly started hitting threes last year. What NBA centers have joined him this season?
ONE NBA SEASON AGO, BROOK LOPEZ SUDDENLY STARTING HITTING THREES. After making only three three-pointers in his first nine seasons as a pro, Lopez suddenly started bombing from deep, hitting an absurd 187 threes and turning into a massive weapon for the Milwaukee Bucks. This year, I wondered what other NBA big men might join Lopez.
In October, I wrote about 10 NBA centers that might follow in Lopez’s footsteps as a big man that suddenly starts shooting three-pointers out of nowhere. I came up with names like Brook’s brother Robin, LaMarcus Aldridge, Deandre Ayton and others.
With the NBA season heading toward its finish line, I thought it was worth looking back at our study to see how our 10 bigs did. Turns out, a lot of them are also shooting threes now! The revolution is here.
The 10 Big Men from Our Study
Robin Lopez, Bucks
We’ll start where we started last time, with Brook Lopez’s twin brother, Robin. RoLo had made only 11 threes in his career coming into the year. This season he’s made 29 more, hitting 33% of his 88 attempts. That’s only 1.6 attempts per game but he’s doing so in 14mpg, and that number is up from 0.1 the rest of his career. Lopez is taking 4.0 threes per 36 and hitting a third of them, basically doing a poor man’s BroLo when his brother rests.
Verdict: Success!
Deandre Ayton, Suns
Somehow Deandre Ayton has still never made an NBA three. He was 0/4 last year. He’s 0/3 this season, though he did miss those 25 games to suspension early on. Phoenix has given Ayton a clear directive to stay inside the arc, for better or for worse.
Verdict: Fail
LaMarcus Aldridge, Spurs
Through 26 games, this looked like a miss. Aldridge had made 14 threes at that point, and never more than two in a game. And then, on December 23, Aldridge randomly took a career-high five threes and hit a trio of them. A few days later he made five, then four and four again the week after. Since that December game, LMA is averaging 1.8 threes a game and making 42% of his attempts. Finally, finally!!, LaMarcus Aldridge is shooting threes.
Verdict: Success!
Marvin Bagley, Kings
It’s been a lost season for the sophomore. Marvin Bagley has played only 13 games. He’s made 4/22 threes during that stretch, his attempts up slightly, but the injuries have robbed him of any real development.
Verdict: Incomplete
Domantas Sabonis, Pacers
Sabonis broke out with an All-Star campaign, but it wasn’t because he started shooting threes. True, his 14 threes this season are already his highest with the Pacers, and his 1.1 attempts per game are more than double his previous high in Indiana. Not enough development there to count.
Verdict: Fail
Gorgui Dieng, Wolves/Grizzlies
As a Wolves fan, I’ve been waiting for Dieng to step out and shoot threes for years, and it finally happened this season. Dieng has hit 50 threes already, well beyond his career-high 19, and he’s making them at a 36% clip. He even rehabbed enough value for Minnesota to flip him for James Johnson, a better fit next to Karl-Anthony Towns. Dieng was one of the five worst contracts in the league a year ago. The three has given him some value again.
Verdict: Success!
Larry Nance, Cavs
Coming into the season, Nance had made only 46 threes in four seasons. This year he’s made 49 already, almost one per game at a respectable 34%. Not bad! Cleveland has a litany of veteran big men now that they added Andre Drummond, so that shot gives Cleveland a different look with Nance.
Verdict: Success!
Pau Gasol, free agent
Gasol never played a game with the Blazers and is considering retirement as he turns 40 years old this summer. Hey, you know what could prolong his career a few years? A nice three.
Verdict: Incomplete
Cody Zeller, Hornets
Zeller entered the season 10/38 on threes in his six-year career. He’s not exactly gunning from deep, but he is attempting 1.4 threes a night now and is 17/72 on the season. It’s not a big step, and he’s only making 24% of them, but it’s clear the Hornets are at least trying to stretch Zeller out a bit.
Verdict: Success?
Grant Williams, Celtics
I was huge on Grant Williams heading into the draft and loved his fit in Boston, and I was banking on him finding a three to add some offensive value. Then the season started and Williams went 0-for-25 from deep to start his NBA career. No, seriously. That’s… rough. Mercifully, Williams finally made his first three in game #21, and since then he’s made an impressive 40% of them on 1.4 a night in just 16mpg. That’s good! I’m counting it.
Verdict: Success?
Overall Verdict
From our 10 initial predictions, we came away with six successes, two incompletes, and two fails. Only Ayton was a complete fail, while Aldridge, Dieng, Lopez, and Nance were pretty big successes. A 75% success rate might not seem that impressive, but given the career odds we were up against on most of these guys, I feel like 75% is a heck of a showing!
10 More Big Men Shooters to Notice
In my previous article, I also listed off 10 guys already making threes that we’d start to notice more. Let’s give those names a quick review, too.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks
Honestly, I’m still not positive everyone has noticed. Giannis has already hit 80 threes this season, easily a career-high, and 31% is his best since his rookie season. Those 4.7 attempts per game are almost double his previous high and ahead of last year’s surge as well.
Jaren Jackson Jr., Grizzlies
Jackson has hit 136 of 340 threes this season for a current playoff team, so yeah, I’d say people have started to notice. JJJ is hitting 40% of his threes and making 2.5 a game. Memphis missing his offense just as much as his defense.
Maxi Kleber, Mavs
Kleber is two threes short of 100, already a career best, and he’s made 38% of his shots from behind the arc on 4.2 attempts a game. That’ll do.
Mo Bamba, Magic
Bamba still isn’t playing much, but he’s hitting 36% of his 1.7 threes a game, both numbers up from his rookie season, and he’s starting to look more comfortable.
Zach Collins, Blazers
Collins made 43% of his threes averaging one per game… for the three games he played. The shoulder injury makes this a lost season for Collins, though he could still return.
Georges Niang, Jazz
Niang still isn’t playing much, but he’s gunning threes when he’s out there. He’s taking 3.1 attempts in 13.4mpg and hitting 42% of them. Shame he can’t defend enough to stay on the court.
Moe Wagner, Wizards
The Wizards stole another useful center from the Lakers, turning Wagner into a useful bench scoring big a la Thomas Bryant. Wagner has 23 threes in 32 appearances, making 35% of them. The sophomore castoff may have found himself a home.
Chris Boucher, Raptors
I called Chris Boucher my breakout Raptor this season, and he’s certainly had his moments. He’s averaging 17 points and 11 rebounds per 36 and has hit 26 threes on 1.8 attempts per night. Though to be fair, Boucher is just one of many Raptors to break out — along with Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, Terence Davis, and Matt Thomas. Good grief, Toronto.
Dragan Bender, Bucks/Warriors
The Bucks were way too good to give Bender any playing time, but he’s already 5/20 from behind the arc in five Warriors games.
Bruno Caboclo, Grizzlies/Rockets
Caboclo hasn’t found a role this year, bouncing between Memphis and Houston without finding any playing time. Guess he’s still two years away.
BONUS!!
Three other center marksmen are worth a shout out as we wrap this thing up.
Christian Wood, Pistons
I’ve always liked Wood but never saw this coming. Detroit really found something here, with Wood averaging 18 points and 8 rebounds a game since January 22. That includes 1.2 threes a game at 38%, and he’s at 37% on the season. Wood is the best NBA center you’ve never heard of.
Karl-Anthony Towns, Timberwolves
Towns you’ve heard of, but did you realize just how proficient KAT has been from deep this year? The 7-footer is taking 7.9 threes a night and making an absurd 41% of them, hitting 3.3 per game. Those are Klay Thompson shooting numbers, and they are just silly.
Kristaps Porzingis, Mavs
I’ve never been a big Porzingis believer but that was before Milwaukee invented a new big man role in Brook Lopez last season. Still, Dallas stuck the 7'3 Latvian at the four and insisted on playing him next to Dwight Powell most of the time — until Powell got hurt. Suddenly, Porzingis is absolutely bombing. He’s made 39 threes in his last 10 games, making over 40% of almost 10 attempts per game, and suddenly that Doncic-Porzingis pick-and-roll is every bit as lethal as everyone dreamed it might be. Look out, NBA. ■
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