What’s the likelihood of Knicks’ Mitchell Robinson hitting 3-pointers in games?

Mitchell Robinson returned to the New York Knicks in free agency on a four-year, $60 million deal. The starting center that the Knicks drafted in 2018 broke the Charlie Ward curse, although since his signing, the amount of money that he’s getting has been called into question.

Robinson’s a known rim protector and rebounder. In the 72 games that he played this past season, he averaged a career-high 8.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. He can finish at the rim too, but one of the main critiques of Robinson’s game from fans revolves around his offensive skillset.

At seven-foot tall, Robinson’s a force in the post, but his offensive game doesn’t extend past that. And because in today’s NBA, centers have evolved into mid-range and 3-point shooters, that’s made Robinson’s lack of shooting stand out even more.

When you look at his numbers, it’s evident that he isn’t a 3-point shooter and he struggles from the free-throw line as he shot 48.6% from the charity stripe this past year.

So, when Robinson’s trainer recently posted a video of Robinson shooting 3-pointers and free throws in an offseason workout, it stirred up the Knicks fanbase.

Knicks fans call Mitchell Robinson’s shot into question after offseason workout video clip

In case it hasn’t been made clear, Robinson isn’t a shooter. And as you can see in the above clip, he doesn’t have the best form. His free-throw form looks awkward.

Even though his trainer made sure to write that the shots took place after Robinson had worked on his post moves, Twitter still let the big man hear it.

Here’s the thing, though. All that we see is a short clip of what Robinson’s been working on this summer. You can look at his free-throw form and tell that something’s off, but it doesn’t make sense to take a clip and run with it about what Robinson has/hasn’t been doing during the offseason.

Free throws are obviously far more important than a 3-point shot, but two of the best centers in the game, Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid, can hit shots from deep. Embiid shot 37.1% from the 3-point line in 2021-22 and Jokic shot 33.7%. MVP voting came down to the two of them, but it was Jokic who took home the award for the second consecutive season.

Robinson’s not going to arrive on the scene fresh off a new contract in 2022-23 and be like Jokic or Embiid, although that’d be nice. New York went out and signed center Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency, who has a better shot than Robinson. Hartenstein shot 46.7% from the 3-point line with the Clippers last season, but that was on less than half an attempt per game. He’s not a great 3-point shooter, which is what some have said, but he has a much better shot than Robinson.

The Knicks wouldn’t have re-signed Robinson in free agency if they were deeply worried about his free-throw percentage or his lack of a jump shot. Yes, those things need to improve, but New York already knows what it’s getting in Robinson.

The odds of him evolving into even a decent 3-point shooter next season are low, but there’s no harm in him working on his shot from deep in the offseason. The Knicks don’t need him to be a threat from beyond the arc. Let’s see if he can start to knock down shots that aren’t within five feet of the rim first.

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