There are a number of great shooters in this league… what makes him so special?
Rahming: The big 3-0. Ellington ended the 2017-18 season tied for sixth place (with Damian Lillard) for the most 3-pointers made, with 227. That puts Ellington in the top 2.5 percent off all 3-point shooters that have made at least 30 attempts. The only other players in the top twenty with fewer minutes played than him (2041) are Steph Curry (1631), Troy Daniels (1622), and Buddy Hield (2024). For a player to be doing this at age 30, while not being a liability on defense (103.9 defensive rating), is phenomenal. You really couldn’t ask for anything more. The only player older than him in the top 20 is Lou Williams, but we all know you are crossing your fingers and praying to the basketball gods when he’s on the defensive side of the ball and you’re in need of a big stop (110 defensive rating). I also encourage everyone to view the 3-pointers made rankings and hang out on page five. There are some very, very surprising names down there. As a NBA fan, I’m going to need most players to improve their shooting or stop shooting so much. Seriously, check it out.
Ebrahim: Going back to what I said before, I think it’s his meticulousness that carries him forward like it did Allen. If you think about ‘The Shot,’ perhaps the most impressive thing was that Allen was able to know where he was on the court, without even looking down to see if he was behind the arc. Ellington has that similar gusto about him. Spoelstra, if I remember correctly, compared his movements on the court to a wide receiver, in the sense that they are mapped out so carefully and strategically. He was sixth in the NBA last year in 3-pointers made, and he only played 26 minutes a game. So that also speaks to his ability to catch a rhythm very quickly; he may be on the bench cooling off for a long time, but when his number is called, the sniper is ready to fire away.