2015 Oklahoma City Thunder Review: One Last Look

Usage Percentage vs. True Shooting Percentage

It’s no surprise that the two players who stick out when looking at true shooting and usage percentages are Westbrook and Kevin Durant. Westbrook led the league in usage percentage last season at 38.4 percent, and although Durant only played in 27 games last season, his efficiency combined with his usage was at an elite level.

Kanter and Morrow stand out as hyper-efficient players last season, although Kanter did it while being used significantly more. Kanter was able to keep a similar true shooting percentage to Morrow’s despite the fact that Morrow shot over 43 percent from three-point range last season. Kanter did this by shooting almost 57 percent in his 26 games with the team from the field and nearly 78 percent from the free-throw line in 4.5 attempts per game.

Not counting the players that didn’t receive significant minutes last season (Steve Novak), the players that stand out as being less than stellar in terms of efficiency were Kyle Singler, Andre Roberson and my personal favorite, Waiters.

Roberson isn’t much of a concern as his usage percentage is a minuscule nine percent while his true shooting percentage is only slightly below average. Singler struggled in his time with Oklahoma City last year, but he’s only just used on more possessions than Roberson, and his history suggests that he’ll shoot better this season.

Waiters is the biggest concern of the three as his usage is significantly higher than the other two players, but his true shooting is also lower. It’s nearly impossible to repeat Waiters’ lack of success last season, as the Thunder were missing their leader (Durant), their best defender (Ibaka) and a number of other players for the majority of Waiters’ time with the team. If Waiters isn’t able to improve on last season, however, he may be looking for work elsewhere next summer.

Next: Playmaking