Has any NBA player ever improved their 3-point shooting like Maxey?

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Tyrese Maxey’s improvement as a 3-point shooter from his rookie year to this year is not quite unprecedented in NBA history.

But it’s awfully close.

As a rookie last year, Maxey made just 31 of 103 shot attempts from 3-point range for 30.1 percent.

How bad is that?

Of 265 NBA players who took at least 100 shots from 3 last year, Maxey ranked 244th. So he finished ahead of just 21 players in the entire league.

That 30.1 figure was 4th-worst in 76ers history by a rookie who took at least 100 3-pointers, behind only JaCarr Sampson (24.4 percent in 2015), Michael Carter-Williams (26.4 percent in 2014) and K.J. McDaniels (29.3 percent in 2015).

This year, completely different story.

Maxey actually started off fairly average this year shooting the 3.

Going into the 76ers’ game on Dec. 30 against the Nets in Brooklyn, Maxey was 36-for-100 from 3-point range, an improvement over last year but still only 36 percent – just above the league average of 35.2 percent.

Then he magically transformed into one of the NBA's top 3-point shooters.

That night, Maxey hit a career-best five 3-pointers on six attempts in the 76ers’ 110-102 win at Barclays Center, despite 33 points, 10 assists and 14 rebounds from James Harden.

And he hasn't slowed down.

Maxey went on to shoot 45.5 percent from 3 in January, 39.5 percent in February, 44.0 percent in March and a ridiculous 54.3 percent in April, despite going 0-for-4 in the regular-season finale against the Pistons Sunday evening. That’s the best April in 76ers history, breaking J.J. Redick’s 52.3 percent figure from 2018.

In his last 44 games, Maxey took 209 3-pointers and made 96 of them for 45.9 percent. That’s the highest 3-point shooting percentage by any 76er over the final 44 games of a season in franchise history. The previous high was Hersey Hawkins’ 45.0 percent to close out the 1990-91 season.

Maxey’s 45.9 percent is also tops in the entire NBA since Dec. 30, just ahead of Luke Kennard [45.6 percent] of the Clippers.

So going into the playoffs, the 76ers have the hottest 3-point shooter in the league.

Overall, Maxey made 132 of 309 shots from the stripe this year for 42.7 percent. He finished 3rd in the NBA in 3-point shooting among qualifiers (the NBA requires players to have at least 82 made 3-pointers to qualify for the league lead), behind only Kennard [44.9 percent] and the Grizzlies’ Desmond Bane [43.6 percent].

That 42.7 percent figure is 4th-best in 76ers history, behind Barros [46.4 percent in 1995], Seth Curry [45.0 percent last year] and Kyle Korver [43.0 percent in 2007].

It’s also 5th-highest in NBA history by a player 21 years old or younger and highest since Steph Curry made 43.7 percent of his 3’s as a rookie with the Warriors 12 years ago.

All of this raises the question: Has any NBA player ever improved shooting 3’s as much as Maxey from his rookie year to his second year?

The answer is yes. But Maxey’s improvement is among the greatest in league history.

I compared every NBA player in league history who attempted at least 100 3-pointers both in his rookie season and his second season, and Maxey’s 12.6 percent improvement from 30.1 percent to 42.7 percent is 3rd-largest.

Rasual Butler, the former La Salle star out of Roman Catholic, shot just 29.2 percent from 3 as a rookie with the Heat in 2003 but improved to 46.3 percent in Year 2, a 17.1 percent improvement.

And Kevin Durant shot 28.8 percent as a rookie with the Seattle SuperSonics in 2008 before hitting on 42.2 percent in Year 2 after the move to Oklahoma City, a 13.4 percent improvement.

And then Maxey.

The next-largest improvements from Year 1 to Year 2: Allan Houston [29.9 to 42.4 with the Pistons in 1994 and 1995], one-time 76ers draft pick Maurice Harkless with the Magic in 2013 and 2014 [27.4 to 38.8], and Jameer Nelson of Chester High and St. Joe’s in 2005 and 2006, also with Orlando [31.2 to 42.4].

And we’ll leave on this note:

Maxey this year became only the 6th player in NBA history to average 17 points and 4 assists per game and shoot at least 48.5 percent from the field and 42.5 percent from 3 before his 22nd birthday.

The others? Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Chris Webber, Kevin Garnett and Derrick Rose.

Daryl Morey needs to sign him to about a 1,000-year contract as soon as possible.

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