Steph Curry is undisputed as the greatest shooter in NBA history. Extending the mid-range to beyond the three-point line and creating a whole new era of spacing in the world’s best basketball league is no small feat, but amongst Curry’s mountain of shooting records and impressive achievements, his free throws may be one of the best. At a career average of 90.8% from the line, it’s not often you get to see him miss.

This season, Steph was back at it again, posting a 92.3% free throw percentage when he got to the line this year. That should be good enough to lead the league, right? Unfortunately for Steph, there was one guy who was somehow more efficient, and it has major implications on this player’s trajectory moving forward.

Jordan Poole has made an impressive enough leap to be a major candidate for Most Improved Player. The 3rd year guard out of Michigan has seen jumps in all of his counting stats, from shooting percentages to per-game numbers, since last season. In his last 20 games, he’s been somewhat of a phenom, stepping up largely in Steph Curry’s absence and posting five 30-point games on top of excellent improvements to his playmaking ability and defense. He’s a special player, but the best part about this guy is that he’s just getting started.

NBA players can often be projected on how high their efficiency ceiling is by their free throw numbers when it comes to shooting. As pure an expression of mechanics as it gets, especially younger players can be projected to turn into excellent shooters if they can hit their free throws. It’s also a valuable skill amongst stars, who have to get to the line to keep production up in slugfest games, or make the freebies in close ones. While we’ve seen the obvious that Poole’s got a flamethrower on him from the outside, his league-leading free throw percentage of 92.5% (just a hair better than Curry’s this year) shows that this is no fluke.

That’s a pretty impressive stat right there. It says a lot about Poole, a 79% shooter from the line his rookie year, that he’s seen such drastic improvements even with an increase in volume. His work ethic is constantly lauded by Warriors coaches and players alike, and it’s obvious from his interviews that he’s a sponge when it comes to learning from the game’s greats. It’s certainly a good thing he’s learning from two of the best shooters ever in Steph and Klay Thompson.

Poole spoke to the media after the final game of the season, where he was made aware that he ended up as the league’s leader in free throw percentage. He had an excellent quote that a lot of players can take some advice from, and it shows how he approaches the game:

Seeing JP’s development as a free throw shooter is just one of the many dimensions his game brings to the Warriors. Aside from the shot creation, playmaking, rim pressure, and energy he brings, the Warriors have had a lot of games this season where hitting their free throws or not was the deciding factor. For Poole to improve on something to try and make up for a deficiency of the team speaks volumes about him as a teammate as well as the culture in Golden State.

Congrats to Jordan Poole on an excellent season. We’re looking forward to seeing the havoc he can wreck alongside his fellow Splash Brothers in the postseason.

(Photo credit: National Basketball Association)