Concerning Stats Illustrate Kings Continued Three-Point Struggles

The Sacramento Kings have struggled from beyond the arc on both sides of the ball all season, but the recent numbers show a concerning trend getting worse.

Will Zimmerle | Feb 19, 2025

Feb 10, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson (31) makes a three point shot against the Sacramento Kings during the second quarter at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

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Sacramento Kings

Three-point shot-making and defense have been a main topic of discussion all season long for the Sacramento Kings. With the playoffs looming, it will likely be the key differentiator for the season's home stretch.

The Kings have put themselves in a deficit from beyond the arc almost all season long as they've both struggled to hit their looks from deep and defend the three-point line.

In their 55 games, they've made more threes than their opponents just 18 times. On the season, they've made a total of 681 threes, compared to 798 for their opponents.

At the All-Star break, Sacramento's 34.5% clip from three is tied for 25th in the league and their opponents are shooting 37.5%, 2nd highest in the association.

Since Zach LaVine's debut, those numbers look even worse. The Kings 3P% falls to 33.8% in the six games and their opponent's 3P% rises to 39.8%.

Part of that is LaVine himself. The sharpshooter came to the Kings with a 44.6% three-point shooting percentage but is shooting just 26.1% from deep in his early Sacramento tenure. LaVine's improvements alone should prop up the Kings team shooting numbers with his high volume of 7.7 attempts per game. He doesn't need to get back to the mid-forties, but getting back to his career average of 38.6% would go a long way.

The larger issue though is that the peripheral shooting numbers from the Kings last six games show that improvement is going to be a (steep) uphill battle.

In a small sample size of just six games, and with the team going through a major roster shift, it's possible that bad luck is harming the Kings and their luck from beyond the arc. But looking at the Wide-Open threes, which NBA.com defines as three-point attempts with six plus feet between the shooter and defender, shows that it is more than bad luck that's hurting the Kings.

The Kings are not only missing more of their Wide-Open attempts but are generating fewer of the great looks.

Kings Wide-Open 3PAs

Season: 7.4-of-19.4 (38.2%)

Last 6 games: 5.8-of-17.5 (33.3%)

On the flipside, they are both giving up more Wide-Open attempts and opponents are hitting them at a higher rate.

Opponent Wide-Open 3PAs

Season: 7.3-of-17.9 (41.2%)

Last 6 games: 8.8-of-19.8 (44.5%)

Of all four data points (Kings attempts, Kings %, Opponent attempts, and Opponent %), all have moved in the wrong direction.

As many have said, it's possible that this team just needs time to gel. Switching out the highest usage player in De'Aaron Fox for LaVine is bound to take time, but that time is running out quickly.

For the Kings to make a run at a playoff spot, or even stay in the play-in tournament, they'll have to either start hitting their threes or limiting their opponents made threes. Ideally, they'll do both, but if they don't do one or the other, the Kings may stumble to the finish line of the season.

Kings Wide-Open 3PAs

Opponent Wide-Open 3PAs

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