How Jayson Tatum Increased His Shooting Percentage in Two Seasons
The 2017-18 NBA season was just Tatum’s second year in the league, but that didn’t stop him from making huge strides and improvements in his game. One of the most notable? His shooting percentage skyrocketed to 52% from 44% during his rookie year with the Boston Celtics — one of the biggest increases you’ll see in today’s game. What allowed him to make this sort of progress so quickly? Here are three ways Jayson Tatum increased his shooting percentage in two seasons that can help you do the same.
What were Jayson Tatum’s stats in 2016/2017
During his rookie season, Tatum shot 41.5 percent from the field and 30.8 percent from 3-point range; overall, it was a solid start to a career with a lot of untapped potentials. The following year, however, he became one of the league’s best shooters and averaged 18 points per game while shooting 47.3 percent from the field and 43.4 percent from behind the arc. So what changed? How did Tatum go from being below average to arguably one of the most deadly perimeter players around?
What did he do differently this season?
One of the biggest differences between his first and second season was a focus on shooting skills. The night after the Celtics lost to the Cavs, he went straight to a gym in Boston and spent four hours working with trainer Mike Payne, honing his balance, dribbling, release point, pivot foot, etc. During the off-season, he worked closely with a trainer to analyze his skillset and he got more training sessions after the season began because it just made sense. Every off day I would work on my shot, he said at shootaround.
Key Takeaways
Track your progress and get a coach for an extra set of eyes. Also, if you are using a partner as a coach, you can use that person’s strengths to your advantage. For example, if they are great at rebounding and defense while you’re known for your shooting skills, see how they approach these different elements of basketball and incorporate them into your game. In addition to tracking key metrics such as points scored per shot taken and shooting percentage, also evaluate other more nuanced statistics like time of possession on offense. Keeping an eye on these stats will help you identify patterns that lead to success so that you can adjust accordingly over time.
Get a coach!
If you want to start shooting more accurately, one of your best bets is to get a coach—online or otherwise. The feedback and guidance that coaches offer can help you quickly improve your shot and test out new ways of thinking about it, like from different angles or through different strategies. It’s also worth looking into whether there are local sports clubs that could help improve your skills by playing competitively. This is especially true if you’ve started to plateau at home—getting an extra competitive push can help jump-start your skill development again, which will inevitably lead to greater shooting accuracy over time. (The right coach will tell you all of these things.) But make sure you’re choosing carefully: Not all coaches are created equal, and what works for some may not work for others.
If you want to level up your shooting accuracy, we got you. We created the 6ixShooter Academy. A one-stop basketball training program to help elevate your game and become an unstoppable shooter with coach Seth McCoy a.k.a 6ixShooter. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE
If you want to level up your shooting accuracy, we got you. We created the 6ixShooter Academy. A one-stop basketball training program to help elevate your game and become an unstoppable shooter with coach Seth McCoy a.k.a 6ixShooter. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE
