D’Angelo Russell (from left), Corey Hawkins, Frank Kaminsky, Tyler Harvey and Quinn Cook are top outside shooters available in the NBA Draft on June 25.(Photo: Star photo illustration) Story Highlights NBA Draft: June 25 Shooting has become as important as any skill in today’s NBA. In the 1998-99 NBA season, when Tim Duncan, Greg Popovich, and the San Antonio Spurs won their first NBA title, teams averaged 13.2 three point attempts per game. The Spurs, for all their excellence, barely hit double figures. Since that time the importance of the three point shot has increased dramatically, with teams averaging more than 22 attempts from three point range this past season. The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors, the two teams competing in the NBA Finals, both averaged more than 27 attempts per game during the regular season and more than 29 per game so far in the postseason. With the increased preference for the three point shot comes with it an increase in the need for three point specialists, giving players who excel at the skill a path to the NBA that may have been much more difficult little more than a decade ago. Every team in the NBA, even the Golden State Warriors, desire more shooting, something that they reinforced at last month’s NBA Pre-Draft combine when they surprised Georgia State’s R.J. Hunter by telling him they were looking to add more shooting depth to their team. Who are some of the best perimeter shooters who could help NBA teams in the coming years? INDIANAPOLIS STAR NBA mock draft links: Analysts’ projections for Pacers’ pick vary D’Angelo Russell, point guard, Ohio State Draft projection: Top-5 Despite being the focal point of opposing team’s defensive schemes from day 1, Ohio State’s freshman guard was absolutely one of the best shooters in college basketball, connecting on 41.1% of his 231 three point attempts. What made Russell’s output so impressive was the attention he received from opposing teams. Rarely did he have much space, or time, to get a clean look at the basket, instead relying on his lightning quick release and incredible ability to shoot off the dribble to carry the offensive load for the Buckeyes. Another thing that bodes well for Russell’s NBA success: more than half (128) of his three point attempts were from 24 feet or more from the basket, and he shot 42% on those attempts. With Russell already displaying NBA three point range in game situations, that transition to the NBA should be a relatively seamless one…
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