Based on Louis Zatzman’s tremendous article on Ochai Agbaji, Samson Folk does a video essay.
Do you enjoy prose, such as: “Agbaji is ranked ninth in win shares among players with usage rates below 15 percent, and most of the players above him are bigs. Third in total win shares when you add in turnover rates below 10 percent. This isn’t just best-small-role-player-on-the-Raptors territory, it’s best-small-role-player-in-the-league stuff. Now I have a machine gun ho ho ho. He is second in the entire league in made corner 3s and is shooting 50 percent on drives. And after almost exclusively shooting from the corner to start the year, he is drifting further and further up the break, but he’s not cooling off. He’s up to 38.7 percent from above the break on the year, far from the profile of a corner merchant.”?
Well, imagine that set with music and overlaid with highlights of Agbaji doing his best on film. That’s what you’re getting with this video essay.
Agbaji has been truly fantastic this year, setting career highs in virtually everything that he does on a basketball court. Points? Sure. Assists? You got it. Rebounds? For sure. He’s been one of the best corner shooters in all of the NBA. Hell, maybe one of the better 3-point shooters in general. The efficiency has been absurd.
Almost 30-percent of Agbaji’s shots are coming in transition, which is in the 93rd percentile in the league. If you think he’s just been scoring while running? That’s not true either. Agbaji’s robust 1.167 on halfcourt shot attempts is also in the 93rd percentile. He’s been operating in rare air as far as efficiency goes, and that doesn’t even account for his defense, where he’s been essential to the Raptors point-of-attack defense. It’s been a hell of a season so far.
Have a blessed day.
