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As I sat watching the second round of the championship games at SM Mall Asia Arena the other night, I couldn't help but notice how much the game has evolved since this arena opened in 2012. The three-point shot has become basketball's great equalizer - and its great humiliator. Having analyzed NBA statistics for over a decade, I've developed something of a fascination with players who consistently struggle from beyond the arc despite having the green light to shoot. There's something compelling about watching professionals who just can't seem to find their rhythm from deep, and tonight I want to share my complete analysis of the NBA's most inaccurate sharpshooters.
Let's start with what makes a truly terrible three-point shooter. It's not just about missing shots - we're talking about players who take significant volume while maintaining historically poor efficiency. The first name that always comes to my mind is Andre Roberson during his 2016-17 season with the Thunder. This guy was an absolute defensive savant, but watching him shoot threes was genuinely painful. He attempted 2.2 threes per game while converting at a miserable 24.5% clip. What made it particularly frustrating was that defenders would literally sag 10 feet off him, daring him to shoot. I remember one specific game where he went 0-7 from deep while Russell Westbrook was triple-teamed. It was basketball tragedy playing out in real time.
Then there's the curious case of Josh Smith. Now here was a player with all the physical tools you could want - 6'9" with incredible athleticism and decent form. Yet throughout his career, he never figured out the three-point shot despite taking them with concerning confidence. During his 2013-14 season with Detroit, he shot 26.4% on 3.4 attempts per game. What baffles me is that he actually had seasons where he shot respectably from deep - 33% in 2011-12 - before completely losing it again. I've always believed Smith's problem was psychological rather than mechanical. He had the ability but lacked the consistency and shot selection awareness that separates decent shooters from terrible ones.
The modern era has produced its own special brand of inefficient three-point shooters, and Russell Westbrook stands as the prime example. Now, before the Westbrook stans come for me, let me acknowledge his MVP season was phenomenal. But my goodness, his three-point shooting has been historically bad for a high-volume guard. During his 2021-22 season with the Lakers, he shot 29.8% on 3.4 attempts per game. What makes Westbrook fascinating to me is that he actually believes every shot is going in. There's a certain admirable quality to that level of confidence, even when the numbers suggest he should probably stop taking those shots in crucial moments. I've charted his shooting and noticed he's particularly bad from the wings - around 27% compared to his slightly less terrible 31% from the top of the key.
What's interesting about analyzing poor shooters is that context matters tremendously. Ben Simmons represents perhaps the most extreme case I've ever studied. During the 2020-21 season, he attempted only 0.2 threes per game while making exactly 30% of them. The sample size was tiny, but what stood out to me was his absolute refusal to even attempt shots from deep. I remember watching a game where he had a wide-open look from three, dribbled into a contested mid-range jumper, and missed badly. At least players like Westbrook and Smith had the courage to keep shooting; Simmons' shooting anxiety became a tactical liability that defenses exploited mercilessly.
The evolution of the three-point shot has created this strange dynamic where even the worst shooters feel compelled to keep firing. Draymond Green comes to mind - a brilliant basketball mind who understands spacing better than most, yet consistently shoots around 28-30% from deep. During Golden State's 2022 championship season, he shot 29.6% on 2.5 attempts per game. What fascinates me about Green is that he knows he's not a good shooter, yet he understands that taking those shots is necessary to maintain offensive spacing for Curry and Thompson. There's a strategic element to his inaccuracy that's actually quite sophisticated, even if the shooting percentages look awful on paper.
As I reflect on these players while watching contemporary games at venues like SM Mall Asia Arena, I'm struck by how the three-point revolution has created new types of specialists and new types of liabilities. The worst three-point shooters aren't necessarily bad basketball players - many are exceptional in other facets of the game. But in today's spacing-obsessed NBA, being an unreliable three-point shooter can make you a target for defensive schemes and limit your team's offensive ceiling. The complete analysis reveals that poor shooting often stems from multiple factors - mechanical flaws, poor shot selection, psychological barriers, or strategic necessities. What's clear is that as the game continues to evolve, the value of reliable three-point shooting only increases, making the struggles of these inaccurate sharpshooters all the more glaring in modern basketball.
