Russell Westbrook has been remarkably inefficient at the start of this 2024-25 season, so much so, that his field goal percentage of 28.78% is the lowest among players who have attempted at least 50 shots.
1. Russell Westbrook – 28.78%
2. Gary Trent Jr. – 28.81%
3. Mike Conley Jr. – 30%
4. Kyshawn George – 31.48%
5. Patrick Williams – 31.74%
Westbrook has never been known for his efficiency, but that’s a terrible percentage even by his standards. The 35-year-old hasn’t shot the ball well in recent seasons, but it was never even close to being this bad.
Westbrook has actually shot under 40% from the field in a full season only once in his career and that was when he was a rookie coming out of UCLA. Even in that 2008-09 season, he was at 39.8%, so he just missed out. If we take a deeper look at the Denver Nuggets guard’s shot attempts, it shows he has struggled from basically everywhere on the court. (via NBA)
Less than 5 feet: 11-27 FGM, 40.7%
5-9 feet: 1-2 FGM, 50%
10-14 feet: 1-8 FGM, 12.5%
15-19 feet: 1-5 FGM, 20%
20-24 feet: 2-11 FGM, 18.2%
25-29 feet: 3-13 FGM, 23.1%
I think the part that stands out the most to me is Westbrook making just 40.7% of shots attempted from less than five feet from the basket. Of players who have attempted at least 25 of those shots, that’s the lowest percentage.
You understand that players can have stretches where they just can’t make jump shots. Their shot can just desert them at times, but when someone struggles near the rim to this extent, it’s worrying because that’s not something that comes and goes.
Also, attacking the basket and scoring was what Westbrook excelled at in his prime. If the 35-year-old can’t even hit those shots moving forward, it doesn’t bode well for him and the Nuggets.
This is still a relatively small sample size, of course, and if you want to look for positives, Westbrook was 4-4 on shots from under 5 feet in his last game against the Toronto Raptors on Monday. The nine-time ended up recording 21 points, six rebounds, six assists, 1 steal, and 1 block against the Raptors as the Nuggets won 121-119 at Ball Arena to improve to 4-3 on the season.
Westbrook went 6-10 from the field in total in that contest and it was easily his best shooting night of the campaign thus far. He is not going to be that efficient on too many nights, though, and the Nuggets wouldn’t expect that from him either. They just need him not to be terrible.
While Westbrook’s shooting percentage has been terrible, he hasn’t been a total disaster for the Nuggets by any means. He is averaging 10.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.9 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game in 2024-25. The future Hall of Famer has played good defense and has done well on the glass as well.
It’s just that Westbrook needs to shoot better. We’ll get an idea if that game against the Raptors was an aberration or a sign of things to come when the Nuggets take on the Oklahoma City Thunder next on Wednesday, at 9 PM ET.
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