This year, Anthony Edwards is taking and making nearly twice as many three-point shots compared to previous seasons. With the Timberwolves losing Karl-Anthony Towns in a trade, they had to find three-point shooting from somewhere else. Ant has stepped into that role, and it seems like he was getting ready for it even before the trade happened.
Speaking with journalist Landon Buford, Ant talked about how he altered his shot so that he would be better at shooting threes.
Ant Edwards Credits Dame for Improved Shooting
Ant talked about different topics with Buford, including his Olympic experience, the team’s defense, and more. But an interesting thing came across when he was asked about how he changed his shooting form. Ant said:
“I didn’t tweak anything um, the only thing I fixed was the way that I step, when I shoot that’s it yeah. I just take a little a different step to the left and that’s it’s all the rhythm I need it’s kind of like a dribble for me it”
He added that he used the time on the Olympic team to study Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, and other great players and how they approach it. He talked about how Steph works on that part of his game constantly, and Ant wanted to improve his shooting as well, saying:
“I was talking to KD after a practice like trying to figure out my footwork for my shot and um that’s why my shot was up and down Olympics. I was trying to figure out like how I want to learn how to catch and shoot at a higher clip and I was trying to figure out type of ways. I watched Dame I watched Steph and I watched Clay and I watched KD. I tried KD way it didn’t work I tried Steph way it didn’t work and then I watched Dame and then I start doing Dame shot and it’s been working for me. So I think yeah watching Dame helps me a lot on being able to catch and shoot”.
Copying Damian Lillard is always a good idea if you are a shooter. He has been one of the top-three shooters from behind the arc for the last 10 years. Dame is a career 37% shooter from behind the arc, and he has the distance to shoot it from the logo.
Has Edwards Improved his Three-Point Shooting?
It might be early in the season, but Anthony Edwards looks like a different player. For the first five years of his career, people have been urging him to attack the basket as much as possible. The three-point shot was a side weapon for him, something he would use occasionally.
Now, it looks like he changed his game to a point where three-pointers are his favorite shot. Looking at Anthony Edwards three-point statistics, he shoots 48% from behind the arc. His previous best was 36.9% during the 2022-23 season. Last year, he shot 35.7% from deep.
Usually, when players shoot more threes, their percentage goes down. But, that is not the case with Ant. He nearly doubled his attempts, going from 6.7 per game to 11.6.
Another interesting fact: in 9 games so far, he has attempted 185 field goals, 104 of which are 3-point attempts. Up until last year, three-point attempts accounted for one-third of his shots. This year, more than half of his shots are threes.
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