3-Point Shooting Regression is a Problem for OKC Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder's 3-point shooting has been one of its only drop-offs from last season, and it needs to find it again.

Nov 27, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace shoots against the Golden State Warriors during the first half at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-Imagn Images / John Hefti-Imagn Images

Though the Oklahoma City Thunder's defense has reached historic numbers this season, and its players have continued to develop, one specific area has dropped a significant margin: 3-point shooting.

The Thunder led the entire NBA in 3-point shooting last year with a 39% clip but has fallen to No. 19 now with 34.6% shooting. The personnel hasn't gotten worse in terms of floor spacing, in actuality, it should've improved with the addition of Alex Caruso.

However, Caruso has struggled massively this season from behind the arc, shooting nearly 24% in 14 games of action. He shot 40% in his final year with the Chicago Bulls, but hasn't yet found his shot since moving to Oklahoma City.

It goes beyond just Caruso with the shooting struggles. Cason Wallace is shooting below 30% from three, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is shooting just 32.6%. Some are keeping up their success — such as Jalen Williams, Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins — but many have dropped off.

The Thunder have maintained a 17-5 record at the top of the Western Conference ladder despite the subpar 3-point shooting, but it's an area that needs improvement as the season progresses. It's one of the areas most NBA Finals winners strive in.

However, positive signs have started to emerge. In Thursday's win over the Toronto Raptors, both Caruso and Wallace were able to find their shot better than most games this year. Caruso shot 2-of-3 from 3-point range, while Wallace shot a respectable 2-of-5. That allowed Oklahoma City's offense to be considerably more open.

If they and the rest of the Thunder roster can get a little more consistent behind the arc, it could put everything together to be a team that is elite in any category on the stat sheet.

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