LeBron James made four 3-pointers in his first 194 minutes this season.
He matched that in 105 seconds against the Wizards last night.
LeBron made 4-of-5 3-pointers on a stretch of five possessions. Then, he showed what happens when you guard him too closely on the perimeter.
This could be an important breakthrough for LeBron, whose jumper had been faulty for most of the season. His 3-point percentage (28.5) is a career low, and his shooting percentage on 2-pointers outside the restricted area (37.3) is his lowest in eight years.
Here’s the evolution of LeBron’s percentages on 3-pointers (wine) and 2-pointers outside the restricted area (gold):
| Season | 2-pointers outside restricted area | 3-pointers |
| 2004 | 34.6% | 29.0% |
| 2005 | 35.5% | 35.1% |
| 2006 | 38.1% | 33.5% |
| 2007 | 36.1% | 31.9% |
| 2008 | 37.0% | 31.5% |
| 2009 | 37.9% | 34.4% |
| 2010 | 39.6% | 33.3% |
| 2011 | 43.4% | 33.0% |
| 2012 | 42.6% | 36.2% |
| 2013 | 44.9% | 40.6% |
| 2014 | 42.1% | 37.9% |
| 2015 | 38.6% | 35.4% |
| 2016 | 37.3% | 28.5% |
But LeBron has shot better from outside since the calendar flipped. He’s shooting 50.0% (9-for-18) on 3-pointers and 46.7% (7-for-15) on 2-pointers outside the paint in the 2016 calendar year.