Craig Luschenat - LeBron James

LeBron for his career shoots 34% from three and 38% from sixteen feet to the three-point line. After calibrating all his miss fundamentals together against the rest of the NBA I can conclude that he is really between a 32%-34% three- point shooter. His miss fundamentals were comparable to Avery Bradley, however they were slightly worse.

LeBron has a fluid shot and a high release point, which are both two positives in his shot delivery. Actually since he made this adjustment two seasons ago his three-point percentage has been much better. However, these are really the only positives in his shot delivery. LeBron drops his hands at a 41% rate per 100 missed shots, which is 17% over the elite percentile. Also, he has a tendency to fade/lean at a 56% rate, which is 31% over the elite percentile. These are the two biggest reasons LeBron isn’t a good jump shooter. Also, his base and footwork aren’t great either, but they’re not terrible; this fundamental is 5% points over the elite percentile. 

At this point in his career eliminating his fade is not realistic, but he could work to minimize it. There is a real difference on video between his good misses and when he fade/leans. Even on his good misses there is still a slight lean, but if he can trend in that direction he will improve his percentages. In terms of dropping his hands, this is a much easier fundamental to control and its something he should focus on. Even if he can fix his hands and not his fade/lean he will dramatically improve as a shooter.

For players whose shooting percentages are better than their fundamentals suggest they should be, usually means they work very hard. If I were to guess LeBron gets up a lot of shots and works hard on shooting the ball. His fundamentals line up more with a 32% three-point shooter; Avery Bradley and Joe Ingles are the two other players who he shares this similarity with.

Breakdown:  Per 100 Missed Shots:

1.     Dropped Hands: Totalà 41% of the time he missed.

2.     Leaning/Fading Back: Totalà 56% of the time he missed.

3.     Feet off Balance: Totalà 17% of the time he missed.

4.     Good Misses: Totalà 23% of the time he missed.

5.     Missed Short: Totalà 35% of the time he missed.

Video Breakdown: Craig Luschenat 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQYQUAjLXgw