Serge Ibaka’s Disappearing 3-Point Shot
OKC Thunder forward Serge Ibaka was a burdgeoning 3-point shooter — what happened?
When Billy Donovan took over the OKC Thunder, he had to be excited about his nucleus of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka. After all, having arguably the best offensive player in the game, the most explosive player in the game and one of the best shot-blockers to work with is what championship teams are made of. But, something happened along the way — Ibaka’s offensive game has been neutered.
In 2013-14, Ibaka had a terrific season, scoring 15.1 points per game to go with his 8.8 rebounds and 2.7 blocks. He shot 53.6 percent from the field and showed a moderate amount of success shooting the three (23-for-60, 38.3 percent). He was becoming more of an offensive option and when paired with his defensive ability, it looked like Ibaka was blossoming into a star.
The following season saw Ibaka fully embrace his emergence as a third scorer for the Thunder offense. He put up a shooting line of .476/.376/.836, making a whopping 77 3-pointers. He paired with Anthony Morrow to provide some space for Westbrook to maneuver, creating an outside threat to make up for the fact that Durant was hurt for the majority of the year.
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Fast forward to 2015-16 — a situation that should be a dream scenario — with a combination of a healthy Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka leading the way. The depth is solid, with Enes Kanter, Steven Adams, Dion Waiters, Andre Roberson and D.J. Augustin all contributing on one end or another. Yet, the Thunder are 3-3, losers of three straight.
They’re potent as a team on offense — second in the NBA in points (111.5) and offensive rating (109.7) — but they’ve stunk defensively (108.7 points allowed, 27th in NBA) and Ibaka has strayed from the path of becoming a two-way stretch-4.
Through six games, Ibaka has taken four 3-point attempts, which is a drop from 3.2 threes per game down to a paltry 0.7 per game. It would be one thing if coach Donovan were interested in having Ibaka pound the offensive glass or perhaps work in the low post, but Ibaka’s shot attempts have simply moved in a few feet. He’s taking a whopping 44.9 percent of his shots from 16-feet to the 3-point line, making 41.9 percent.
One reason for this is because Ibaka has been making liberal use of the slip screen. Both Durant and Westbrook command so much attention that Ibaka is largely left free for open jumpers.
This is on the heels of Donovan’s comments about Ibaka’s unique game to Erik Horne of NewsOK.com:
"I feel very comfortable with him shooting threes, even corner threes, because of the time and effort he’s put into it, but also he’s a proven shooter – he’s a really good catch-and-shoot guy and that’s a unique combination for a frontcourt player in the league to have."
Yet for some reason, Ibaka continues to pass on the 3-point shot. Instead of embracing his gifts, he’s straying from what made him just the third player to block 150 shots while making 60 or more 3-pointers.
| Totals | Shooting | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Season | Age | Tm | G | MP | 3P | 3PA | BLK | FG% | 3P% | eFG% | FT% | TS% |
| Andrei Kirilenko | 2003-04 | 22 | UTA | 78 | 2895 | 68 | 201 | 215 | .443 | .338 | .479 | .790 | .559 |
| Raef LaFrentz | 2001-02 | 25 | TOT | 78 | 2455 | 104 | 268 | 213 | .458 | .388 | .514 | .695 | .533 |
| Raef LaFrentz | 1999-00 | 23 | DEN | 81 | 2435 | 60 | 183 | 180 | .446 | .328 | .480 | .686 | .512 |
| Serge Ibaka | 2014-15 | 25 | OKC | 64 | 2116 | 77 | 205 | 155 | .476 | .376 | .525 | .836 | .549 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/8/2015.
When you’re on a team that has a lot of offensive options, there’s bound to be a bit of a dip. What’s confusing is the fact that Ibaka is still third on the team in field goal attempts and is getting plenty of opportunities in the pick-and-roll. If Ibaka can consistently slip into open space, why not pass on the 20-footer for a few extra feet an an extra point?
According to NBA.com’s tracking, Ibaka is in the 82nd percentile as the roll man, scoring 1.19 points per possession. He’s been in that position 26.3 percent of the time. Conversely, he’s in the 28th percentile in spot-up situations, scoring just 0.74 points per possessions (28.8 percent of his game situations).
What those two numbers imply is simple — Donovan’s scheme isn’t placing a premium on getting Ibaka on the 3-point line. When he’s in the pick-and-roll, he’s either diving to the basket or slipping into the 18-to-20 foot territory. When he’s spotting up, it’s rarely on the 3-point line.
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The primary job of the coach is to piece together lineups of players so that their individual strengths meld into the best five-man unit possible. Donovan is either encouraging Ibaka to take long jumpers or he’s not being firm with his instruction and is letting Ibaka do what he wants. Either way, Donovan is making a huge mistake.