Which NBA players are shooting 3s for the first time this season?

In today’s game, the 3-pointer is king. We’re going to break down the players who are likely to add the outside shot to their repertoire this year.

If you’re talking about players adding the 3-point shot this season, you have to start with 76ers point guard, Ben Simmons. He has taken just 17 total attempts from behind the arc in two seasons, 10 of which have come from 30 feet out or further — he’s taken more heaves than 3-pointers during his time in the league.

His inability to shoot from the outside has been deemed as the Achilles heel to an otherwise promising game. At 6-foot-10, Simmons has made a name for himself as one of the best point guards in the league today. He can make all the passes and is an elite facilitator. What we’ve come to see out of primary ball handlers is that the threat of shooting from distance opens up the rest of the floor.

During Media Day, Simmons made sure to let the world know that he heard the criticisms and is doing something about it, “I’m confident with the work I’ve been putting in. I’m more confident with the reps I’ve been putting in [on 3-pointers]…If it’s open, I’ll take [a 3-pointer].”

We all will be awaiting to see whether or not he holds true to his words.

Another player expanding their game out this year is Deandre Ayton of the Phoenix Suns. As a rookie, he pulled off the rare feat of averaging a double-double — 16.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per game — yet his exploits were lost in the shadows of the performances from Luka Doncic and Trae Young.

This is expected to be a year of change for him. The Suns also brought in playmaking wizard, Ricky Rubio in free agency who should only make the game easier for Ayton.

The bigger change though is that he expects to play as a power forward rather than center where he spent the bulk of his time last season. Despite the relative immediate success he displayed at the position, he has felt — dating back to his time at the University of Arizona — that his true place on the floor is as a 4.

Regardless of which spot he occupies on the floor, he knows that he’ll need to be able to stretch the floor, “I’m definitely shooting the 3 this year,” he said during Suns Media Day. Ayton added, “The NBA is changing dramatically…and you’re gonna have to put up shots regardless”.

He has shown that he can hit outside shots. As a freshman with the Wildcats he shot 35 total 3-pointers and converted on 34.3 percent of them. That number dropped to four last year and similarly to Simmons they were all in late-clock situations.

Phoenix’s new head coach Monty Williams, believes his system will allow for Ayton to use that ability once more, “In our offense, there’s a number of opportunities in the trail spot where he can knock down the three…[Ayton]’s worked on it and my philosophy is if you’ve worked on it, do it.”

Then there’s New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson who didn’t take a jump shot further out than 16 feet in his rookie season. The offseason didn’t go according to plan for the franchise and they’ll go through another season where growth and development will take precedence over winning.

The players that New York did bring this summer have one thing in common: they all play in the frontcourt.

For Robinson, that means moving his shooting range deeper on the court. The Athletic‘s Mike Vorkunov reported that the lanky big man was “firing [3-pointers] off after the first practice of Knicks training camp, curling around traffic cones and past the 3-point line.”

After a rookie season that saw him operate as a rim-running lob threat, he is looking forward to adding more skills to his offensive lexicon. Not only will it help the team but the added versatility will likely reward him with a big leap in playing time over the course of his second season in the NBA.

At times, videos and workouts that we see feature things that don’t translate into the actual season. Robinson says that won’t be the case for him, “Why work on something you’re not going to use? I’m looking forward to [shooting 3-pointers].”