3 Reasons Why the New York Knicks Should Re-Sign Frank Ntilikina

New York Knicks: Ntilikina’s improving 3-point shot

For all of his well-documented struggles inside the arc, Ntilikina has actually blossomed as a marksman from behind it.

After shooting 30.5% from three in his first two NBA seasons, he’s connected on 36.2% of his triples over his past two years in the league. That 36.2% has come on 185 attempts too, a fairly large sample size given the brief amount of minutes he receives each game.

This includes a ridiculous 47.9% mark from deep this past season, hitting threes seemingly anytime he checked into a game.

Head coach Tom Thibodeau had Ntilikina fully operating in an off-ball role, using him as a floor-spacer instead of instructing him to initiate the team’s offensive sets.

This is a major reason why the young guard has become an improved shooter, allowing him to fire away corner threes. This is a shot that Ntilikina has hit 43.3% on throughout his career, so it makes sense that Thibodeau wanted him to take more of them.

Ntilikina will be suiting up for the French National Team in this summer’s Olympics, and it seems like his improved shot is here to stay. He went 2-2 from behind the arc in France’s first exhibition game on July 8th.