The best players on championship teams who are primarily perimeter players have at least been serviceable from beyond the arc. Ja Morant's shaky three-point shooting is what has primarily kept him from becoming one of the top-tier players in the NBA. While his injuries have piled up over the last few seasons, his three-point percentage has remained low.
Ja Morant came into the league known as a high-level athlete with crazy speed with the ball in his hands and a playmaking point guard. He has lived up to what were considered his strengths and weaknesses to a fault, as not developing his jumper has affected his time on the court. His relentless attacking style of play is fun to watch, but he will have to be contained if he wants to beat the injury-prone allegations.
While his shooting struggles haven't outright hurt the Grizzlies in the playoffs to date, his lack of development will be a point of emphasis if it continues. The Grizzlies have surrounded him with arguably the best group of teammates that fit around what he does best, but he will have to complete the final piece to the puzzle.
Morant's three-point shooting will swing the Grizzlies' 2025-26 season
The final four lead guards for the conference finals participants last season shot at least 35% from three-point range for their careers. The lowest of the four, Shai-Gilgeous Alexander, is arguably the best mid-range scorer in the NBA, and improved his three-point percentage to 37.5% last season on a career-high 5.7 attempts per game.
On the other hand, Ja Morant hasn't shot better than 34.4% in any season of his six-year career, and that was three years ago. Over the last three seasons (when he has missed a lot of time on the court), he has shot just 30.5% from three, while increasing his attempts every season (career-high 5.7 last season).
His saving grace has been the playoffs, where he has shot 34.4% from three for his career, which includes the 2023 playoffs, when he shot 41.9% from three in five games against the Los Angeles Lakers. That first-round series saw Morant attempt a playoff career-high of 6.2 threes per game, so he has shown minor potential in that area.
Morant isn't afraid to take the three-point shot, which was evidenced in his 1-12 performance from three in a game against the Phoenix in February. However, the Grizzlies will need him to execute on making more of his attempts if they want to become a real title contender with him as the driving force.