Over the course of his career, Russell Westbrook has never been known as a lights-out shooter. He has racked up a plethora of deserved accolades and shown mastery of numerous aspects of the game, but his shooting has at least never been ultra consistent.
Westbrook has certainly had stretches of successful shooting. For a while during his early days in Oklahoma City, his pull-up shot from midrange seemed automatic. During the final 21 games of the season last year with the Clippers, he shot around league average from three.
But by and large, his shooting numbers have been shaky over the years. This is highlighted by one particular cringe-worthy stat: Among all players in NBA history to make 1,000 three-point shots (since the three-point line was introduced in 1979), Westbrook holds the single lowest three-point percentage.
Westbrook has the lowest 3PT% of any player to make 1,000 threes
Make no mistake about it, being on a relatively short list of players to sink 1,000 three-pointers in their career is a major accomplishment in and of itself. But this number does serve to highlight Westbrook's inconsistent jumper.
For his career, Westbrook has shot 30.4% from beyond the three-point arc. This is far from the worst a player has ever shot from outside, but it makes sense that it would be the lowest among all long-tenured, high-volume shooters from three.
Most players in the history of the league can not claim the longevity that the 16th-year Westbrook can, including some of the greatest shooters of all-time. It is also important to remember that Westbrook has been one of the most versatile players of a generation.
So while this stat does highlight Westbrook's inconsistent jumper, we should not lose sight of the fact that his game is far more than simply knocking down jump shots.