Oklahoma City defied the odds with poor outside shooting on its way to a championship.
among playoff teams. The No. 14 Detroit Pistons , No. 15 Memphis Grizzlies and No. 16 Orlando Magic all lost in the first round, winning just three of their 15 combined games.). Its 3-point percentage fell below the average by 1.
6%, since all 16 teams shot 2,090-for-5,097 from beyond the arc. Make no mistake: The Thunder stood out negatively from previous modern-era champions. The No. 1 overall seed's struggles were even more atypical because it is an extremely selective shooting team. Oklahoma City attempted 94.4% of its 3-pointers onEight Thunder players averaged at least 2.5 outside attempts during the playoffs, with just three of them shooting above 35%. Luguentz Dort and Alex Caruso, two of the NBA's best perimeter defenders, recorded the most 3-point volumeThe Thunder's three best players ultimately caused its 3-point nightmare. Jalen Williams , Chet Holmgren and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander each regressed at least 6.1% from their regular-season percentages — a major, major problem because of their shot distribution.The 2019-20 Los Angeles Lakers, the previous volume low, tallied elite restricted-area volume and efficiency thanks to LeBron James and Anthony Davis. That also applied to the 2020-21 Bucks, the previous efficiency low. They possessed a game-breaker, but non-shooter, Giannis Antetokounmpo. Effective field goal percentage is an efficiency metric that weights 3-pointers correctly, as made threes are worth 50% more than made twos. Throughout the 2025 playoffs, teams thrived in the restricted area , shot 3-pointers well and settled for mid-range shots last . Eight of the last 10 championship trios recorded a playoff effective field goal percentage above the seasonal league average. Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams and Holmgren, who together averaged 50.5 points from the field, were a whopping 3.0% below average. They were the last decade's only threesome who did not eclipse one point per shot attempt.Oklahoma City suffered just two last-second home losses, never lost back-to-back playoff games and won the championship despite woeful team shooting from downtown and horrific field-goal efficiency from its stars. Time will tell whether the Thunder's poor playoff 3-point percentage is a feature of the defense-slanted lineups or a bug with viable pathways to improvement.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Kamala Harris didn't know impact of 'The View' comment made in 2024 campaign, report saysFormer Vice President Kamala Harris didn’t immediately know the impact of one of the comments she made during her presidential campaign last year, the Associate
Read more »
Kamala Harris didn't know impact of 'The View' comment made in 2024 campaign, report saysFormer Vice President Kamala Harris didn’t immediately know the impact of one of the comments she made during her presidential campaign last year, the Associate
Read more »
Kamala Harris didn't know impact of 'The View' comment made in 2024 campaign, report saysFormer Vice President Kamala Harris didn’t immediately know the impact of one of the comments she made during her presidential campaign last year, the Associate
Read more »
Katie Holmes Revives the Barn Jacket Trend from Fall 2024 for a Second Go-AroundMeguire Hennes is the fashion staff writer at Marie Claire, where she breaks down the celebrity looks living rent-free in her head (and yours). Whether a star is walking the red carpet or posing on Instagram, Meguire will tell you who they're wearing and why. When she's not gushing about A-listers from J.
Read more »
Looking Into 2024-25 OKC Thunder's Playoff Scoring Profile, Part Two: Mid-Range ScoriThe Thunder recorded slightly above-average mid-range volume and efficiency compared to the field.
Read more »
Construction begins on South 12th Avenue for city's Storm to Shade projectJacqueline Aguilar joined KGUN 9 as a multimedia journalist in February of 2024.
Read more »