The NBA Potential of Anthony Edwards

Anthony Edwards has been a common name brought up by the sports media to be the number one pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. However, I believe that any team that takes Edwards in the top 3 is making a mistake.

Player 1: 33.8%

Player 2: 29.4%

Player 3: 35.6%

While you may not believe it, Edwards is player 2. The two players he is being compared to here are Russel Westbrook (Player 1) and James Harden (Player 2). Edwards is seen to have a similar fearlessness and motor to Westbrook while being a much smoother scorer, however in an age of 3-point shooting his percentage in college is below that of Westbrook, a player who is seen to be one of the most inefficient players in the NBA. The comparison to Harden is made because Edwards is supposed to come into the NBA as a player somewhat resembling Harden, however hard shot over 6% better than Edwards on college 3-pointers.

While some may argue free throws are a more important number to measure a college player's NBA 3-point shooting potential, an aspect Edwards does well in, this metric is mainly showing the ability to make a set 3 point shot. The issue is that Edwards does not take many set 3-point shots, often dribbling into a contested shot. This is where the issue lies.

Regardless of the abysmal 3 point shooting percentage Edwards has, there is a chance he can fix this. However, the change in shooting set three point shots will alter his game significantly.

Just because a player takes a high volume of 3 point shots in college does not mean they can shoot them efficiently in the NBA.