One month into the NBA season, there have been a lot of surprising observations. Franchises with big names like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant fall below the +500 mark. An evident shift in the dynamics has been witnessed, with young talents like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Ja Morant, and Donovan Mitchell ruling the roost.
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Another development originating from the state of California that has our attention is Lakers guard Russell Westbrook having better shooting splits than former 3-point contest champion Klay Thompson. While this might have many of us scratching our heads, statistics don’t lie.
It’s been a rough start for Thompson, who continues to revive his A-game post missing two and a half seasons due to catastrophic injuries. On the other hand, Westbrook has exceeded expectations in his bench role, having found a new lease of life.
Recent stats indicate Westbrook has a higher shooting efficiency than Thompson, no matter what range.
Russell Westbrook is shooting better than Klay Thompson from the 3-point line.
As shocking as it may sound, it is nothing but the truth. Westbrook, who for the longest time was categorized as a poor shooter from beyond the arc and mocked for the same, has a higher efficiency than 3-point savant Thompson.
The 6ft 3″ former MVP is averaging 16.3 PPG, 7.2 APG, and 5.5 RPG on 41/34/81 shooting splits. On the other hand, Thompson has witnessed an evident dip in his numbers, averaging 15.1 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 2.4 APG on 35/33/81 splits.
Klay Thompson’s shooting over his last 10 games:
6-17 FG / 3-9 3PT
6-16 FG / 5-13 3PT
3-13 FG / 2-7 3PT
6-18 FG / 3-10 3PT
10-24 FG / 7-15 3PT
7-19 FG / 4-12 3PT
5-14 FG / 1-7 3PT
6-19 FG / 5-14 3PT
1-8 FG / 0-5 3PT
3-10 FG / 2-7 3PT pic.twitter.com/yxu3vMxX44— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) November 17, 2022
Surprisingly, Thompson is a career 41.5% shooter from the 3-point line and is close to 85% from the free-throw line. The five-time All-Star hopes to flip the narrative as the season proceeds as he stands at the most testing time of his career.
Has Klay Thompson reached his ceiling?
The Warriors guard’s journey has been nothing short of inspiring, given his comeback post back-to-back ACL and Achilles injuries. One cannot overlook Thompson’s contribution to the Warriors’ recent championship run, but one cannot deny the rapid decline in his numbers.
In what many believe, the four-time champion’s grave injuries have robbed him off the latter prime of his career. Nonetheless, the 32-year-old has time till the end of the season to find his groove back.
