Rui Hachimura has been one of the Los Angeles Lakers‘ best three-point shooters for years now, but he has been even better than you might have thought. Hachimura went 2-4 from beyond the arc in the Lakers’ 107-98 win over the Houston Rockets in Game 1 on Saturday, which meant he crossed the 100-mark for three-pointers attempted in the playoffs.
As for where Hachimura ranks in percentage among players in NBA history with at least 100 attempts in the playoffs, you might be shocked to know he’s at the very top.
Best Three-Point Percentage In NBA Playoff History (Min. 100 Attempts)
1. Rui Hachimura – 48.5%
2. Andrew Nembhard – 47.3%
3. Seth Curry – 46.8%
4. Raja Bell – 46.6%
T5. B.J. Armstrong – 45.1%
T5. Mike Dunleavy Jr. – 45.1%
7. Kenny Smith – 44.8%
8. Channing Frye – 44.4%
9. Tim Thomas – 43.6%
T10. Grant Williams – 43.3%
T10. Jeff Hornacek – 43.3%
Hachimura has gone 50-103 in the playoffs in his career. This isn’t a case of a player getting hot from deep once or twice in the postseason, either.
Of his five playoff runs, Hachimura has shot over 48.0% from three in four of them. The 28-year-old has been quite consistent. Hachimura has also now shot over 40.0% from three for three straight regular seasons. The volume isn’t quite there, but we can definitely call him a sniper.
While having one player in this top 10 is great for the Lakers, they’ll soon have two. Guard Luke Kennard has shot 46.9% from three in the playoffs for his career, but he has only had 96 attempts. Kennard went 5-5 from deep against the Rockets in Game 1, and you’d expect him to get to 100 in Game 2. Even if he goes 0-4 there, he’ll still make it here at No. 7. He’s not going to shoot that poorly, though.
Among the rest who did make it, the one who stands out the most is Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhad. Nembhard being that high up shows he is indeed a playoff riser.
Nembhard has shot just 34.4% from three in the regular season in his career. He’s never even had a season where he has shot over 37.0% from deep, but is somehow at 47.3% for the playoffs. We’re not talking about a small sample size either. Nembhard has played 40 playoff games for the Pacers.
Seth Curry comes in after Nembhard, and he is easily the least surprising member of this top three. Seth has shot 43.3% from three in the regular season and bumps up that number to 46.8% in the playoffs.
If you’re wondering where his brother Stephen Curry is, he is unsurprisingly nowhere near the top 10. Stephen is the greatest shooter of all time, but taking as many threes as he does makes it impossible for him to crack this top 10. He has attempted an NBA record 1,637 threes in the postseason and has made 39.7% of those.
