So, Siakams 3p shooting woes are widely known, but I think what a lot of people don't understand is just HOW bad it actually is. So, let's break it down.
Siakam is currently shooting 19.8% on 4.1 attempts a game. That breaks down to 16 made 3 pointers, on 81 attempts.
As per Statmuse, the current 5 worst 3 point shooting seasons in NBA history on 4+ attempts a game are :
- Mookie Blaylock - 97-98 26.9% on 4.8 attempts a game
- Latrell Sprewell - 94-95 27.6% on 4.7 attempts a game
- Marcus Smart - 16-17 28.3% on 4.2 attempts a game
- Kobe Bryant - 15-16 28.5% on 7.1 attempts a game
- Monta Ellis - 12-13 28.7% on 4 attempts a game
20 games into the season Siakam has attempted 81 3's, assuming Siakam plays all 82 games this season, and continues to put up 4 attempts a game, that leaves 248 more, for a total of 329 3p attempts. Siakam is currently a 32.1% career 3 point shooter, which is bad, but not historically so.
So how does this all break down for the rest of the season?
If he shoots 36% for the rest of the year, he would end the year averaging 31.9%, just about his career average. Siakams career best was 36.9% in 2018-19 when we had Kawhi, followed by his second best year in 2019-20 at 35.9%. Safe to say, this is pretty unlikely to happen, so we're already off to a bad start.
If he shoots his career average (32%) the rest of the season he would end up at 28.7%, which would be tied for 5th worst 3 point shooter in NBA history on 4 attempts or more.
If he shoots 30% the rest of the season he would end up at 27.3%, which would rank 2nd worst in NBA history.
And lastly, if he shoots 29% the rest of the season?
He officially becomes the worst single season 3 point shooter in NBA history with 26.7%.
The difference between him shooting 32% and 29%? 7 total 3 pointers made, it isn't just possible he ends up bottom 5 in NBA history, but at this point it's entirely likely.
Aside from shooting better, another way he can lessen the chances of making that list, is to just shoot less overall. That doesn't solve the problem but makes it less evident.
There is nothing I have seen to indicate that his mechanics have changed, or how/when he takes the shots, so my only assumption is that it's something mental. Which was somewhat confirmed when he hit a shot a game or two ago, and he was laughing running down the court saying "Thank god".
Ultimately, I don't think Siakam is this bad, but with how deep of a hole he has dug this year, it's pretty likely this season goes down as one of the worst in NBA history on any significant attempts.
The only real caveat here is that this is based on his current shot diet/rate, so naturally any major changes to that will throw this all out of whack.
