It’s officially that time of the offseason. The time when Instagram videos “leak” out, showing NBA players testing and tweaking aspects of their games. The leaks are mostly to inspire confidence from fans that their favorite players are working to be in peak form for the upcoming season.
Then there is Rudy Gobert, who became a topic of discussion last week after acclaimed NBA trainer Lethal Shooter posted a video of Gobert working out with him in Europe.
The post states that he is helping Gobert with his footwork and rhythm, and references working with players who dominate from 15 feet and closer.
However, the post’s description didn’t stop the internet from immediately speculating about Gobert shooting threes this upcoming season. After all, it’s something he practices frequently after team practices when the media is allowed into the gym.
Since we are in the offseason, it’s at least worth digging into and posing the question.
Could Gobert develop a three-point shot this late in his career?
Let’s start by laying out Gobert’s three-point history. Over his 12-year career, Gobert has never made a three, going 0 for 17 in a game. Even if you include his international play, he’s 0-3. Meaning professionally, he’s never made a three-point shot at any level.
There has been some correlation between free-throw percentage and three-point shooting, particularly when trying to determine if a college player can develop into a successful NBA three-point shooter. Gobert’s career 64.1% from the free-throw line doesn’t inspire confidence. However, he shot 67.4% last season, a slight improvement from the previous year.
Admittedly, the case for Gobert to become a three-point sniper isn’t ideal. However, there still is some semblance of hope.
Marc Gasol
Gasol might be the best example of someone who has completely reinvented themselves as a shooter. In his first 8 NBA seasons, Gasol shot 66 threes and only made 12 of them (18.2%). However, Gasol took 268 threes in 2016-17, 265 more than the previous season. He knocked down 38.8% of his three pointers and finished his career shooting 36.0% overall, making 431 threes.
Al Horford
Horford would start his first 8 seasons like Gasol, rarely shooting threes, launching just 65 of them. He would shoot slightly better than Gasol, making 21 of them (32.3%). However, Horford’s three-point shooting exploded in 2015-16, a year before Gasol, when he took 256 attempts. Horford never looked back. He has made 976 threes in his career at 37.8%.
Brook Lopez
Lopez only took 31 threes in his first eight seasons, making only 3 of them (9.7%). Like Horford and Gasol in their ninth season in 2016-17, he would shock everyone and take 387 three-point attempts and make 34.6% of them. Like Gasol and Horford, Lopez never looked back. He has now made 1075 career threes (35.2%).
Players have transitioned from being a non-threat from deep to incorporating the three-point shot into their game and achieving success. One key difference is that Lopez, Horford, and Gasol all flipped the three-point switch on in their ninth professional season.
While that might seem mundane, it’s relevant. Gasol would be 31 years old in his ninth season, Horford would be 30, and Lopez would be 29. If Gobert starts taking threes, not only would it be in his 13th season (4 seasons later than the others), he would also be 33, 2 years older than Gasol when he adjusted. While age isn’t everything, it would suggest that Gobert is a little late in his career to make such a drastic change.
Gobert’s free-throw shooting is the other significant difference. The year before his three-point explosion, he shot 82.9% from the free-throw line. Similarly, Horford shot 75.9% and Lopez shot 78.7% before they started launching threes.
While all three of these players had sub-70% free-throw shooting seasons early in their careers, they had at least built up a reputation for improving their free-throw attempts, which likely gave more confidence to the coaches who allowed them to start shooting threes in-game.
Gobert walking into the 2025-26 season with a three-point shot seems rather unlikely. It’s much more likely that Lethal Shooter and Gobert were working on touch and footwork to prepare Gobert to be more effective at one of his strengths. However, Gobert is taking the summer off from playing Euroball, which could open up more time for him to refine his long-range game.
As Kevin Garnett said, “Anything is possible.”