Kings' Next Step: Volume Shooting and a Modernized Offense

There was a steep drop-off between them and the rest of the league, with the Golden State Warriors taking the second most attempts at 42.4 per contest. So while the Kings may not get to 50 attempts from beyond the arc, getting into the low or mid-40s should put them in the upper echelon of three-point shooting teams in the league next season.

For this exercise, we’ll assume that the Kings roster comes into next season as is. That could change in the next few days or months, but it feels unlikely that the Kings will make any large changes outside of the Jonathan Kuminga sign-and-trade possibility.

Taking a look at the Kings' current roster, the first question when it comes to three-point volume has to start with DeMar DeRozan. The six-time All-Star has a patented mid-range shot that likely isn’t going anywhere. He once again led the league in mid-range field goal attempts last season at 8.3 per game.

That makes it hard for the Kings to get to a high three-point number just from a simple math perspective, but it is important to note that DeRozan attempted 3.3 threes per game last season, the second-highest mark in his 16-year career.

Even more importantly, he shot 3.9 threes per game after Christie took over as coach. That’s a good sign for this upcoming season. If DeRozan can up that number even a touch more, it would go a long way to helping the team increase it’s volume.

Looking at the rest of the roster, Scott Perry has done a great job of putting together a team where nearly everyone can step out and shoot the three. Below is the Kings projected roster, with three-point shooting numbers from last season.

Everything from the three-point line will start with Zach LaVine, who not only led the team last year in three-point attempts, but also made them at a 44.6% clip. He alone can carry a team from beyond the arc for a game.

It will be interesting to see if his volume goes up after a full offseason and training camp with Christie. LaVine topped out his three-point attempts at 8.2 per game in the 2020-21 season with the Chicago Bulls.

The other big question mark will be Keegan Murray. Him getting his three-point percentage back up to the high-30s would be huge for the Kings. But when it comes to pure volume, he’s been around six per game throughout his first three seasons, with 6.3, 6.6, and 5.9 each year.

The numbers that will likely go down are Nique Clifford and Maxime Raynaud, who both will likely have lower usage and shooting numbers than they did in college last season. But them having the ability to step out and shoot the three gives the Kings another great chance at rising through the ranks in the league.

And just like DeRozan, Domantas Sabonis will be key to watch to see how much he shoots the three-ball. He doubled his three-point attempts from the 2023-24 season (1.1) to last year (2.2), and increased his percentage to a career-high 41.7%.

If he can raise that number even to between three or four per game, that could force opponents to step out and guard him on the perimeter even more, which could open up the offense.

All of this is hypothetical and looking at last years numbers, but it goes to show that the Kings have the potential to be a high-volume three-point shooting team, even with DeRozan on the roster.

Fifty attempts seems unlikely, or even the 46.2 total from above, but it feels almost certain that the Kings are going to attempt more than the 35.2 threes per game that they took last season.