Why Are The OKC Thunder Shooting so Many 3-Pointers?

The Oklahoma City Thunder are taking more 3-pointers than they did a year ago, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren leading the charge in that area. Why are the Thunder shooting more?

Oct 27, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) warms up before the start of a game against the Atlanta Hawks at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

In training camp, the Oklahoma City Thunder vowed to shoot more triples. A subject they harped on throughout the preseason, with Mark Daigneault going as far as to point the finger at Jalen Williams and Aaron Wiggins as two guys he specifically wanted to shoot the ball more.

However, the list did not stop there. Even in the preseason, superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was shooting the ball more often, noticeably better from distance and with a new-look jumper to boot.

So far in the regular season, they have walked that talk, living up to their promise to hoist more 3's, climbing from 16th in the league a year ago in 3-point attempts (32.4) to 11th (38.7) through the first three games.

The stark difference for now, is their accuracy. From the top of the league (38.9 percent) to a lowly 27.6 percent (No. 28 in the league). However, those shots will start to fall - and did to a certain extent when the Thunder shot 40 percent from distance in their last game against the Atlanta Hawks. Even sharpshooter Isaiah Joe is in an early season slump posting just 33 percent from beyond the arc.

So why are the Thunder chucking more triples as the offense labors at times when they could get to the will at rim? It comes down to shot quality and building toward a bigger goal.

Sure, Gilgeous-Alexander and company could pressure the rim more and history tells us rack up more points and even further distance themselves from opponents - although, they have still played in garbage time in all three contests - but it gets them no closer to their end goal.

In Adam Silver's NBA, the Thunder can slither their way to the rim as they did a year ago with little resistance night in and night out. However, in the playoffs, as the games get more physical, played in the half court, slowed down and defenses are engaged for 48 minutes, that is not a receipe for success as your only calling guard.

As the Boston Celtics showed a year ago, and many teams have in the past, you have to be able to shoot the trey ball to win a championship. A year ago, the Thunder were bounced by the Dallas Mavericks purely due to an outlier shooting series from PJ Washington.

While his name and series makes Thunder fans shutter, how do you get to an outlier shooting series? Generating and taking triples, which Oklahoma City passed up on a year ago.

While this route does make the regular season efficiency look ugly at times compared to a near perfect offensive regular season a year ago, it lays the foundation for Oklahoma City to reach their championship aspirations with nearly all of thier 3 pointers this season being quality looks - Daigneault going as far as to say they are better shots than a year ago in his pregame press conference ahead of Sunday's clash with Atlanta.

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