Team USA's minicamp wasn't short of one-on-one battles between established and up-and-coming stars of the league, but as the likes of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Paul George traded buckets on ferocious mano-a-mano wars post-scrimmage — others worked in a less visible acumen.
Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond and power forward Blake Griffin traded step-back 3-point jumpers on Thursday, a battle that turned into a contest on Friday, as an assistant coach joined in on the fun.
Asked of his new past time, Drummond said this was all but that, working on his long-range jumper rather intentionally.
“I don't do stuff (on the court) just to have fun,” Drummond told Joseph Casciaro of theScore when questioned about his 3-point ventures. “If I'm taking those shots, (it's because) I'm working on it for the upcoming season. Those are shots that I'm gonna be taking.”
“I make at least 200 corner threes every day before I leave the gym. I'm getting them up. I'm getting the same shot up over and over again, so I'm getting more comfortable with it. It's been great so far.”
Drummond has improved his free-throw shooting incredibly, a feat that wound up in him having his best NBA season by far, averaging 15 points, a league-best 16 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game. The New Yorker went from a ghastly 38.6 percent from the foul line to a much-improved 60.5 percent — a massive improvement that has taken his overall game to new heights.
The big man underwent surgery for a deviated septum last season, which improved his conditioning dramatically, allowing him to breathe better. This time around, the 3-point shot could become the one weapon to take his game to an All-Star level.
“It's something the coaches and I talked about it,” Drummond expanded. “Working on the corner 3-point shot, working on my ball-handling, still working on my touch around the basket, too, but opening my game up a lot more. It's going to be a lot of fun.”
Drummond also recorded a career-high 3.0 assists per game last season, showing that he's still tapping onto his ultimate potential as a 24-year-old rising star.
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