Sergio Rodriguez, how a creative Point-man became a deadeye-shooter

Going into the unexpected EuroLeague break, Sergio Rodriguez is shooting 50 percent from three-point range: he has made 12 of his 24 attempts. This is not necessarily surprising, because Chacho is sixth all-time in the EuroLeague for three-point field goals made, but he is the second, among the top 10 in accuracy, behind only the specialist Jaycee Carroll (42.35 percent for the American, 40.38 percent for Rodriguez). Combining volume and accuracy, Rodriguez deserves to be considered among the greatest shooters to ever play in the EuroLeague. But still…

Still, he wasn’t always this kind of player. Rodriguez, when he emerged playing for Estudiantes Madrid, was known for his penetrations, creativity, for the art of performing amazing passes. In fact, his idol growing up was Jason Williams, who in the NBA, first in Sacramento and then in Miami, where he won a championship, had popularized the most unpredictable passes. Sergio Rodriguez was his Hispanic version. But, in spite of being an effective scorer, he was no shooter. In 2004/05 when he played both in the Spanish league and in the EuroLeague with Estudiantes, Rodriguez finished the season 29-for-99 from three. Not a catastrophic year, but certainly not indicative of a dead-eye shooter. The following season – combining the Liga and the Eurocup – he made 31 three-pointers out of 109. In those days, he attempted one three-pointer for every three two-pointers.

In 2006, he was selected in the NBA draft first round by Portland for many reasons, but not for his outside shooting. As a rookie, in the NBA, he made 28.2% of his threes. He then gradually improved, but in the 2009/10 season, the season spent part in Sacramento and part in New York, he finished with a pedestrian 31-for-90 from three-point range. The three-pointer was still an afterthought for him. For every four shots he was taking from the field, three were twos.

However, he still manages not to abuse of the three-point shot. It is no coincidence that in the Real Madrid game, in which he set his personal index record (37) and the second-best career scoring night, 25 points, he made only three threes, while he went 4-for-5 from two on top of going 8-for-8 from the line. Indeed, Rodriguez is a deadly shooter from the line. In the two years in Moscow, he made 97 of 109 free throws (89%). Last year he made 49 of his 51, or 96.1 percent, the best number of his career. Linking the end of last season and the beginning of this one, Sergio has scored 25 consecutive free throws, missed the 26th and then resumed his streak, now at 10.