Isaiah Joe’s 3-Point Percentage is Rapidly Climbing

The Thunder has dominated competition all season long, cruising to the NBA’s best record. Of course, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is leading the charge, but the rest of the team is legit too. Oklahoma City is well constructed and deliberately built, and it’s showing in a big way this season.

To start the season, Oklahoma City relied on stellar defense. With the offense coming out flat and needing time to adjust, the defense had to step up and anchor the young team. But now, the offense has caught up and the product has been the juggernaut we see now.

Oklahoma City is fifth in points scored, 11th in field goal percentage, and first in free throw percentage. The Thunder also takes care of the ball at a premium, committing the fewest turnovers in the NBA. After starting the season relatively cold from 3-point range, the team is a top-half shooting squad in the NBA. While the team’s outside shooting percentage is rising, so is the team’s sharpshooter Isaiah Joe’s.

Joe suffered through a big time shooting slump to start the year — by his standards anyways. He was hovering around the 35-37% range for most of the season before January began, but he has been on quite the heater lately. Although it hasn’t necessarily swayed the outcome of any game, it’s encouraging to see. When the court shrinks in the playoffs, this is the version of Joe that the team will need.

Over the last 10 games, Joe is averaging 12.8 points per game on 51.7% from the floor and an astounding 48.5% from 3-point range. The last 10 games have also included two separate contests featuring eight made triples. On the season, Joe is back up to 38.9% from long range while taking a career-high 6.0 attempts per contest. He’s sneaking back up to 40% and completely rebounding from his slow shooting start to the season. 

Joe’s shooting has always proven to find its way back on track. Despite this slump being elongated, Joe has been a consistent sniper over the course of his Thunder stint. His slumps are more noticeable, though, considering he’s the only specialty shooter the team has.

When he’s on, Oklahoma City is at its best. This version of Joe is who the Thunder will need in the postseason.

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