Nets' Dariq Whitehead Reveals How He Improved Shooting

This season has been an interesting one for the Brooklyn Nets' Dariq Whitehead as he's had to share time between the NBA and the G League. This comes after the former Duke star suffered a shin injury in his rookie season, which would keep him limited to only playing two games.

In his time with the Long Island Nets this season, Whitehead averaged 12.7 points on 37.9 percent from the field across 29 games. During his occasional stints with Brooklyn this season, the 20-year-old struggled from the field, up until his most recent call-up.

During the last seven games, Whitehead is averaging 9.4 points per game, but his three-point shooting has been the true standout. The former Duke star is shooting with 40.9 percent accuracy from beyond the arc, which he can attribute to the difference in playstyle between the two leagues, as well as Jordi Fernandez's demands, as reported by ClutchPoints' Erik Slater.

“It’s two different games… When I was down in Long Island, that was me trying to do things that I knew I wouldn’t have the chance to do this year up here, which is a lot of off-the-dribble, learning to beat guys off the dribble, and stuff like that, just getting comfortable with my body again,” said Whitehead. “Then up here, coach is very loud about what he wants: shoot threes, play a lot of defense."

While he hasn't played in a majority of Brooklyn's matches this year, he's managed to rank among the most efficient shooters from downtown on the team, only trailing Jaylen Martin, who has only appeared in three games. These numbers aren't to what the 20-year-old produced in Long Island, only converting on 33.5 percent of his shots from three-point land.

Whitehead is making it apparent that he doesn't want this streak to be a one-off occurrence, as he is planning to improve himself over the course of the upcoming off-season.

"For me, it’s gonna be continuing to take care of my body and conditioning. That’s gonna be big for me going into the offseason… Doing whatever I can to make sure next year I’m coming in and there’s no thoughts or talk about me [not] being in the best shape I can possibly be in… [This will be] one of my first summers since high school being able to go out there and train and work on things," said the former Duke star. "So just taking advantage of this summer and making sure I come back even better, even stronger.”