Perimeter scoring
Westbrook is known for his unabashed shooting tendencies – when he is feeling himself, he makes any viewer believe he is one of the best shooters in the league. There is not a single shot that he doesn’t like, as he takes a multitude of pull-up jumpers from anywhere on the court, particularly his bread-and-butter mid-range game.
Despite his ability to finish at will at the rim, Westbrook tends to take far too many long-range two pointers. Throughout his career, Westbrook has taken a whooping 34.9 percent (5.23 attempts) of his 2-pointers between 10 feet to under the 3-point line, while shooting an underwhelming 39.1 percent. The table below shows Westbrook’s shot selection throughout his career.
| % of | % of | % of | % of | % of | % of | FG% | FG% | FG% | FG% | FG% | FG% | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | FG% | 2P | 0-3 | 3-10 | 10-16 | 16 <3 | 3P | 2P | 0-3 | 3-10 | 10-16 | 16 <3 | 3P |
| 2011-12 | .457 | .845 | .291 | .152 | .190 | .212 | .155 | .482 | .631 | .358 | .404 | .437 | .316 |
| 2012-13 | .438 | .805 | .337 | .128 | .141 | .199 | .195 | .466 | .609 | .289 | .398 | .387 | .323 |
| 2013-14 | .437 | .729 | .331 | .091 | .137 | .171 | .271 | .482 | .592 | .264 | .444 | .415 | .318 |
| 2014-15 | .426 | .804 | .346 | .105 | .169 | .184 | .196 | .457 | .580 | .310 | .402 | .363 | .299 |
| 2015-16 | .454 | .764 | .377 | .110 | .171 | .106 | .236 | .503 | .596 | .409 | .429 | .392 | .296 |
| 2016-17 | .425 | .700 | .293 | .067 | .171 | .167 | .300 | .459 | .576 | .305 | .434 | .345 | .343 |
| 2017-18 | .449 | .807 | .375 | .072 | .151 | .209 | .193 | .485 | .611 | .306 | .382 | .394 | .298 |
| 2018-19 | .489 | .854 | .526 | .044 | .153 | .131 | .146 | .556 | .681 | .167 | .381 | .389 | .100 |
| Career | .436 | .813 | .352 | .112 | .164 | .185 | .187 | .465 | .583 | .325 | .396 | .386 | .309 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/18/2018.
In contrast, Khris Middleton who is one of the better mid-range shooters in the league shoots
roughly 38.7 percent (3.75 attempts) of his two-pointers from the same region, while connecting at a 45.7 percent clip.
Middleton is far and away more efficient from this area while taking fewer shots than Westbrook.
Shooting awareness
More from Thunder News
- Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
- Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
- 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
- Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
- Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder
A simple adjustment Westbrook can make is to substitute some of his mid-range attempts for 3-pointers. This will not only aid his efficiency as he ages, but it will do wonders for him being an off-ball threat as a catch-and-shoot producer.
Looking at his 3-point conversion of 30.9 percent, it is clear he already takes more shots than he should from beyond (on 3.4 attempts), particularly when the majority are contested and dribble pull-up
The league has seen shot transformations before, most notably with NBA legend Jason Kidd who became a 3-point menace in the latter stage of his career.
With changes to his shot selection, tendencies, and mechanics, Westbrook can certainly improve his 3-point reliability.