Bucks’ Brogdon is a sharpshooter
Milwaukee Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon has played 152 games in his NBA career and is a couple months into his third season in the Association. He won the league’s Rookie of the Year honor in 2016-17 and he is a starter and important part of the Bucks team that has one of the best records in the NBA this season.
With all that being said, Brogdon has certainly been a solid performer in his short career… but would you be ready to say that Brogdon is one of the best shooters in the league? Or, are you ready to call him one of the greatest shooters in NBA history?
Before you answer that, let me offer you a few stats that might affect your answer.
Brogdon leads the NBA this season i n free throw percentage by making 50 of 51, a .980 percentage(through games of December 21). His career free throw percentage is .893. Of all NBA players with a minimum of 250 career free throw attempts, Brogdon’s .893 percentage ranks 11th all-time in the league.
But in addition to a stellar free throw percentage are a couple of other eye-opening shooting stats. First, Brogdon has a career .408 shooting percentage from three-point range and is a career .510 shooter in two-point attempts in his career. Add it all together and Brogdon’s career shooting percentages are .408 (three-pointers),.510 (two-pointers) and .893 (free throws).
This is where Brogdon’s shooting percentages might get your attention. Of all players with a minimum of 150 career NBA games, Brogdon is one of only seven players in history with acareer three-point percentage above .400, a career two-point percentage over.500, and a career free throw percentage over .850.
Of course Brogdon’scareer is in the early stages and those percentages have a lot of time (as longas Brogdon’s maintains a long NBA career) to deviate up or down. But if you put stock in these shooting percentages, you would have to say that Brogdon has made a case that he is today one of the league’s best shooters. If we say that years from now is another story.
Here’s a look at the seven players in NBA history with a career three-point percentage above .400, a career two-point percentage over .500, and a career free throw percentage over.850 (through games of December 21, 2018).
Player, Career Games, 2-pt pct, 3-pt pct, FT pct
Wally Szczerbiak, 651 games, .505, .406, .860
Mark Price, 722 games, .501, .402, .904
Steve Nash, 1217 games, .518, .428, .904
Jeff Hornacek, 1077 games, .515, .403, .877
Stephen Curry, 646 games, .514, .438, .905 *
Jose Calderon, 870 games, .507, .408, .872 *
Malcolm Brogdon, 152 games, .510, .408, .893 *
Active players: *
One other quick note: If he continues this pace from the free throw line, Brogdon has a good chance to break the Bucks’ all-time record for highest free throw percentage in a season. Here is a look at the Bucks players who have the highest free throw percentage in a season (minimum of 82 free throw attempts in a season to qualify).
Keith Van Horn, .945 pct, 91 attempts, 2003-04
Jack Sikma, .922 pct, 348 attempts, 1987-88
Ray Allen, .913 pct, 195 attempts, 2002-03
Luke Ridnour, .907 pct, 140 attempts, 2009-10
Ricky Pierce, .907 pct, 311 attempts, 1990-91
Jack Sikma, .905 pct, 294 attempts, 1988-89
Ray Allen, .903 pct, 195 attempts, 1998-99
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Photo by Bill Tennessen
