Are the Detroit Pistons still pleased they gave Josh Smith a big deal to sign him off free agency? Considering their record and his awful, on historic levels bad shooting numbers, there are probably one or two people unhappy with the choice.
Right now, Josh Smith has attempted an incredible 155 3-point shots in 42 games. That’s just under 3.7 shots from beyond the arc per game. There are 73 players this season who have played 21 games or more and are attempting at least 3.6 shots from beyond the arc per game. Only four of them are shooting below 30%, but Josh Smith, at 23.9% is worst than everybody.
The thing about Smith is that he’s on pace to take 300 3-pointers this season give or take. Out of the 667 players to attempt that many shots in a season, only 17, in all of NBA history, have shot worse than 30% from beyond the arc. Here as well, Smith is the worst of the worst, and not just by a fraction.
| Player | Season | Team | 3-point Percentage |
| Josh Smith (proj) | 13-14 | Detroit | 23.9 |
| Antoine Walker | 03-04 | Dallas | 26.9 |
| Mookie Blaylock | 97-98 | Atlanta | 26.9 |
| Antoine Walker | 06-07 | Miami | 27.5 |
| Latrell Sprewell | 94-95 | Golden State | 26.6 |
| Allen Iveson | 02-03 | Philadelphia | 27.7 |
| Jerry Stackhouse | 01-02 | Detroit | 28.7 |
| Monta Ellis | 12-13 | Milwaukee | 28.7 |
| Jason Williams | 99-00 | Sacramento | 28.7 |
| Jason Williams | 01-02 | Memphis | 29.5 |
| Corey Brewer | 12-13 | Denver | 29.6 |
| Michael Adams | 90-91 | Denver | 29.6 |
| Joe Johnson | 10-11 | Atlanta | 29.7 |
| Gilbert Arenas | 10-11 | Total | 29.7 |
| Jerry Stackhouse | 96-97 | Philadelphia | 29.8 |
| Vernon Maxwell | 93-94 | Houston | 29.8 |
| Damon Stoudamire | 97-98 | Total | 29.9 |
| Paul Pierce | 03-04 | Boston | 29.9 |
Since this season began it’s easy to see that the 3-big man idea in Detroit isn’t working. Smith isn’t suited to play on the permieter, which isn’t stopping him from taking bad shots, making a career low 40.8% from the field. It doesn’t matter that the Pistons have changed their approach and Smith gets more minutes at the power forward position: He’s still opting to take bad shots, and the coaching staff in Detroit hasn’t been able to change anything about his destructive approach on offense.
Hat tip: Detroitbadboys
One response to “Josh Smith, The Worst Three Point Shooter in NBA History”
[…] SVG was brought in and decided that during last year’s free agency class, he would rather spend money on players that fit his team, instead of chasing after high priced free agents who may create schematic and locker room conflicts. The Pistons acquired Jodie Meeks, D.J Augustin, and Caron Butler via free agency, and used their lone draft pick (second round) on Colorado PG Spencer Dinwiddie. Predictably, the team got off to an atrocious 5-23 start and were staring into the abyss, but then, a Festivus miracle occurred. The team waived Josh Smith, one of the worst free agent acquisitions in Detroit sports history. After 105 games, shooting 42% from the floor and 26% (!) from 3 point range, Van Gundy elected to kick Smith and his albatross of a contract (4 years, $54 million) to the curb, rebuilding the team around Andre Drummond and Greg “Moose” Monroe rather than try to have them split minutes with Smith any longer. The team instantly improved, firing off a seven game win streak and playing much better basketball than they did with Smith aimlessly chucking up threes. […]