When he was first drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2014, Jordan Clarkson was known as an excellent slasher and athlete, but he needed to work on his jump shot. He worked hard on it, however, raising his three-point percentage from 31.4 as a rookie to 34.7 in his second season.
The jump in accuracy was noticeable, but Clarkson was still not satisfied. During the offseason videos surfaced of Clarkson consistently knocking down threes from well beyond NBA three-point range.
With Luke Walton taking over as head coach, there was obviously going to be more of an emphasis on the three-point shot and Clarkson is ready for the change, saying that the shot is an easy one for him now on Spectrum SportsNet (via Lakers Nation’s Ryan Ward):
Jordan Clarkson on his improve 3-pt shooting: “Easy shot for me now. It’s more fluid for me. More comfortable taking it.” (via @SpectrumSN)
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) October 10, 2016
Clarkson becoming a knockdown shooter will take his game to the next level as his speed and athleticism already make him a very difficult cover. If defenders have to worry about his jumper as well, it opens up a number of things for him and his teammates offensively.
So far in the preseason Clarkson has been placed in a new role, coming off the bench. In fact, Walton compared Clarkson’s potential of a Sixth Man to that of Lamar Odom. Furthermore, the bench of the Lakers has been excellent as Clarkson, along with Brandon Ingram, Larry Nance Jr., and Tarik Black, form a fast, long, athletic unit that could be among the league’s best.
Whether he is starting or coming off the bench, Clarkson has definitely improved his jumper leaps and bounds from the time he came into the league, and that spells good things for his career and the Lakers future.