LeBron James is in the middle of the worst shooting slump of his 22-year career, with this poor stretch being amplified during his dismal 10-point (4-16 FG) performance against the Minnesota Timberwolves in an 80-109 loss last night. He shot 0-4 from three in the loss, marking his fourth straight game without a three-point make.
James has now missed 19 three-point shots since making two of his seven three-pointers in a blowout 27-point loss to the Phoenix Suns on November 26. In the following games, James has shot 0-2 (W over San Antonio Spurs), 0-4 (L to OKC Thunder), 0-9 (W over Utah Jazz), and 0-4 last night against the Timberwolves.
This streak of 19 straight misses led fans on Reddit to say that James is six misses away from breaking Grant Williams’ record of 25 straight three-point misses, a record Williams set to open his career with the Boston Celtics.
“LeBron James is now 6 misses away from the NBA record for most consecutive three pt attempts without a make.”
Fadeaway World decided to fact-check this claim and realized that James is not even close to setting the consecutive misses record, with Grant Williams’ 0-25 start not even ranking among the top three.
The record belongs to NBA legend Otis Thorpe, who once missed 35 consecutive three-point attempts primarily on heaves. Zaza Pachulia had a streak of 31 consecutive misses and three-time Defensive Player of the Year Dwight Howard once had a streak of 28 missed shots.
James with 19 isn’t even close to setting a new record. We literally saw NBA history be made concerning consecutive three-point misses earlier this year when Dolano Banton of the Portland Trail Blazers went 0-15 from three in a game against the Sacramento Kings, setting a new record for most misses without a make in a game.
What can be easily verified is that this is James’ worst stretch of games as a three-point shooter in his career. The 0-9 showing from three against the Jazz tied his single-worst shooting performance in a game, going back to a game in April 2010 against the Boston Celtics. This is as ugly a stretch as we have seen in LeBron’s career, but it isn’t close to being a historic run of misses from an all-time perspective.
James is in the midst of the worst six-game stretch of his career since his rookie season, averaging 16.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 8.7 assists over the last six games while shooting 39.8% from the field and 10.0% from three.
The 19 consecutive misses he has had are absurd given the fact he was a 41.0% shooter from three last season while attempting over five shots a game. This isn’t a problem with his ability, it is something deeper.
Hopefully, the Lakers can get a handle on LeBron’s current dip in form. Everyone knows he is a far more impactful player than what we have seen in recent weeks, it’s just a question of returning to his best. Whether he needs some time off for that or he will just find his rhythm eventually remains to be seen.
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