With a combination of size, strength, and athleticism, Corey Maggette made a name for himself in the basketball world as one of the most punishing players on the perimeter. It all started at the high school level in Chicago, as he turned into one of the top recruits in the country. The brief stop at Duke showed that he was the rare player to have an NBA body as a teenager, and that led to him being a lottery pick after just one season.
The NBA was the first time in Maggette’s career where he finally started going up against players who could match him athletically. Although he often still had the advantage over his opposition, his game needed to evolve to become a more well-rounded player. That is when Corey Maggette, the shooter, first got a start, and he grew into someone who could score in a variety of ways.
Getting to the line
Players like Maggette can take a lot of contact on the basketball court. His ability to drive to the basket and get fouled was always a huge calling card for him. There were six seasons in his career where he shot at least eight free throws per contest, but that stat only matters if a player can convert.
With the Orlando Magic in his rookie season, Maggette shot 75% from the free-throw line. While that is a nice, solid average for the majority of players, this ended up being the worst free-throw percentage of his career until the final season where he played sparingly for the Detroit Pistons. For his career, he shot 82.2%, which led to a total of 4605 points from the free-throw line alone. To put that in perspective, roughly 35% of his career point total came from the line, and it made him a trusted, dependable player.
Many say that the sign of a great shooter is how they approach the free-throw line. It is the most consistent shot in basketball, and any perimeter player that dips below 80% from the line starts to have some doubt about their shooting. Maggette always felt confident at the line, and that allowed him to take contact and play at a high-level even late in games when free throws are more prominent.
Expanding his range
The three-point shot was never a massive weapon for Corey Maggette during the early days of his basketball career. He made just 29 three-pointers during his one season at Duke, and it was virtually eliminated from his game during his rookie season in the NBA. The longer distance led to just 11 three-point attempts his rookie year, despite playing over 1370 minutes over the year.
After his rookie season, Maggette was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers, and that started the evolution of Maggette as a three-point shooting threat. It started gradually in 2000-2001, as he was 17 for 56 from three-point land. The next three seasons, he would shoot no fewer than 139 three-pointers, with his career-high of 231 in the 2003-2004 season.
By his late 20s, Maggette was evolving into a very consistent threat for three-point range. His best season came in 2007-2008, when he shot 38% from the three-point line on 203 attempts. This helped give him space to operate elsewhere, and it was one of the two seasons that he averaged over 22 points per contest.
If Maggette played in today’s game, he would likely be shooting the ball even more. His career ended right before the true evolution of basketball, where every position had the free reign to shoot from deep.
Maggette had more of an old-school approach to the game, only putting up a couple of attempts per night.
Off the dribble
As a focal point of the offense for not only the Los Angeles Clippers, but the Golden State Warriors, Maggette had to be pretty creative as an individual. That meant creating opportunities for his own shot, which sometimes hurt his numbers on paper. However, Maggette turned into an excellent mid-range shooter as well, giving his body a break when he was not able to get to the basket.
The shooting touch of Maggette led to pretty efficient numbers inside the line. He was not forced to shoot too many bad shots, and he was always a smart enough player to pass something up for a better opportunity for a teammate. Sometimes, the mark of a good shooter is passing to someone who has a better look.
A final look at Corey Maggette’s shooting evolution
Maggette’s ability to shoot and space the floor, and play multiple positions on top of that, really opened up opportunities later in his career. The Milwaukee Bucks and Charlotte Bobcats both enjoyed one season from Maggette in which he was able to knock down three-pointers consistently, while also getting to the basket and the line. He did not play as much as he did during his prime, but he was still a very efficient scoring mostly coming off the bench.
Injuries eventually caught up to Maggette, and his final season ended with very little play for the Detroit Pistons. If his body could have held up, there is no doubt that he would have had a chance to play additional seasons, especially with the way the NBA was going. The kid from Chicago with a game based on athleticism evolved into a solid shooter from deep, and that is one of the main reasons why he was able to have a 14 year NBA career.
