Donovan Mitchell is scoring more efficiently than ever before, but he’s doing it differently than many expected. Over the first four years of his career, his three-point shooting steadily rose from 34% to 38.6% and showed no signs of slowing down. However, this year, he started in a severe shooting slump, resulting in a lackluster 35% from downtown. Combine that with the fact that his current free throw rate is his lowest since his rookie season, and you might wonder how he’s improved his overall scoring efficiency.
The answer is Mitchell’s vast improvement in scoring in the paint.