Onyeka Okongwu made the leap nobody could have possibly expected

One of the most common refrains when talking about the NBA is “if he could just shoot.”

If he could just shoot the three ball, his defense and intangibles would make him an excellent ball player. If he could just shoot the midrange jumper, he would be an elite offensive player. If he could just shoot off the dribble, he would be a perfect fit on this team.

Of course, we all know this is usually a futile hope; NBA players don’t suddenly learn how to shoot after decades of bricking threes.

You can safely assume that every player who makes it to the NBA has, at some point, tried to be a shooter. If they aren’t one by the time they make the big leagues, it’s usually a good guess that they’ll remain a non-shooter at the NBA level.

But there are exceptions to every rule, and Onyeka Okongwu has become the most spectacular example of shooting development in recent years.

Okongwu is in the midst of a historic shooting leap

Okongwu entered the league as a complete non-shooter, sinking just four triples over his first three seasons. In his sixth season as a pro, he is shooting 38.5% on 5.4 threes a night.

The three-year leap we have seen from Okongwu is nothing short of historic, but the most remarkable development occurred this season. Just last year, he was shooting a firmly below-average 32.4% from deep on a firmly below-average 2.0 attempts a game. 

Fans were left wondering whether it was actually worth letting Okongwu shoot. After all, he became the franchise leader in true shooting percentage from his inside scoring, not his deep shooting. There was little reason to believe that he would ever be a positive three point shooter, even entering this season.

Okongwu did the impossible this season, increasing both the volume and efficiency of his deep shot. Not only did his percentage rise by over 6%, which swung him from a bad shooter to an above-average shooter by efficiency, but he also increased his attempts per 100 possessions by more than double last year’s rate.

Hawks voice and FanSided’s own Brad Rowland put Okongwu’s shooting leap into excellent context. Three years ago, or even at the beginning of this season, would you have expected Okongwu to make more threes than Karl-Anthony Towns despite the New York center playing more minutes this season? In fact, only one center has made more triples than Okongwu this season (Myles Turner).

Okongwu went from a complete non-shooter to one of the league’s most dangerous stretch fives in just a few seasons. Who would’ve thought?