Post#23 » by bkkrh » Sun Jul 27, 2025 12:50 am
That would be a title contender. They´d probably need a few games to adjust, but I wouldn´t be surprised if a full training camp is already enough. I always find the the "lack of 3 point shooting" argument silly. College players and international players are able to adapt to the NBA 3 point line in their first season, a player like Brook Lopez went from making three 3 pointers in 8 seasons to 134 in his 9th year, but somehow the best players in the world of the 60s and early 70s shouldn´t be able to learn that, despite a lot of them already being good distance shooters.
Rick Barry played his last season the year the 3 point line was introduced. He had 3.1 attempts per game and shot 33% in 25 minutes as a 35 year old in his worst statistical season.DeMar DeRozan was 32.8% From 3 on 3.3 attempts in 36 minutes last season and that was the first time he reached 3 attempts on average since 17-18.
Robertson, West, Barry, Baylor & Havlicek definitely would have easily adapted to the 3 point line. There is simply enough footage that shows them taking shots from similar distance already. Can´t really say for Cousy, since most footage of him shows him making layups, weird floaters and hook shots. Wouldn´t even be surprised if Wilt would have been a decent 3 point shooter, since he started to take more shots from mid range after a few seasons, to show his versatility.