Mike Brown's New York Knicks have had an up-and-down start to their season in the win column, with a 5-0 start at home and three road losses in as many games. Nonetheless, OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges seem to be picking up right where they left off with regard to last season's 3-point success.
Both wings were top-six in made corner 3-pointers through Thursday, according to NBA.com's shot-tracking data. Anunoby was in third place behind two players in Texas: Mavericks guard Max Christie and Rockets wing Tari Eason. The Knicks wing was averaging 1.6 corner makes after Wednesday night's win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Bridges, tied for sixth with the Bucks' AJ Green, was making 1.4 per game.
Anunoby and Bridges are both having remarkable starts to the year from behind the arc in general, regardless of specific shot location. Anunoby averaged 7.3 shots from distance on average through the first eight games. He made 41.4% of those looks. Bridges boasts a more impressive conversion rate of 46.5%, but 'only' on five and a half 3-point attempts per game.
The pair's dominance from the corners is the continuation of a trend, not the start of one. In the 2024-25 season, they both averaged 1.1 3-pointers made per game from the corners. That had them tied with their eventual playoff opponent in the Pistons' Malik Beasley for third place. Only Harrison Barnes and P.J. Tucker, who played in just three games all season, finished ahead of the duo.
How Anunoby and Bridges' sharpshooting differs from last season
The difference this season is in the volume. Last year, only Ron Harper Jr. averaged more attempts from the corners per game than either Anunoby or Bridges. It was because he took three corner 3-pointers in the one game he saw action in all season. Anunoby's 2.9 and Bridges' 2.7 each game were, for all intents and purposes, the top two in the NBA.
Through Thursday night, Anunoby was averaging the single-most attempts in the league at 3.1 per game. Bridges is averaging 2.3 attempts each night from the corners, which is down from the season before. He does, though, seem to have traded in his volume for an increase in efficiency. He's also averaging 1.6 more assists per game than he did last season, with his average increasing from 3.7 to 5.3 to this point.
Again, it's still quite early in the Knicks' first official year of their championship quest. But their two marquee wings are delivering to date. If Anunoby and Bridges keep putting the '3' in '3-and-D,' to this extent, things will be even easier for stars Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns in Brown's offense offense.