It’s been nearly a decade since Nikola Vučević lost his 3-point shot like he has this season.
For the first few weeks, it felt like a fluke. Vučević was shooting the ball poorly — but the entire Chicago Bulls roster couldn’t shoot worth a damn, averaging 34.9% from behind the arc through the first 20 games of the year.
And yes, Vučević’s production had dropped below one 3-pointer per game in that span, the sixth-lowest volume on the roster. But all the players were fervent in their belief that their 3-point shooting would surely, someday, defrost from this ice-cold slump.
In the months since the Bulls have somewhat shaken out of their shooting stupor. They average 35.9% from behind the arc for 11.6 makes per game — 25th overall in the league, a modest improvement from dead-last in the 2022-23 season.
But Vučević’s shot is still nowhere to be found. With six games left in the regular season, the center is averaging 28.6% from deep for 1.2 makes per game. It’s his lowest accuracy since the 2015-16 season and his lowest production since 2019.
The cause is unclear. And it creates an evident problem for the Bulls, who already lost one piece of their “Big Three” with Zach LaVine’s season-ending injury.
“He’s a much, much better shooter than what he showed this year,” coach Billy Donovan said. “I really believe that. I think he’s had some good looks and for whatever reason, he hasn’t shot like he’s capable.”
This slump has been bewildering for Vučević, who has voiced frustration with his shot throughout the season.
Although the Bulls as a collective have made an effort to take more 3-pointers this season, Vučević is taking slightly fewer (4.1 average this year compared to 4.2 in 2022-23). At times, his teammates have urged him quite bluntly to shoot the ball more.
“I do think he’s selective,” Donovan said. “He takes the 3s that he feels comfortable taking. This is not a guy that’s taking eight-to-10 3s — I think, to be honest with you, he can take eight-to-10 3s a game. But also I think he’s very conscientious.”
For years, the strength of Vučević as a center has been his ability to balance playing inside and shooting from the outside. This is a growing trend for big men in the NBA and it’s one that Vučević embraced fairly early in his career, lifting his 3-point shooting accuracy to 35% in the 2018-19 season on his way to his first All-Star selection.
And this versatility was an integral part of his fit with the Bulls, with the ultimate goal of creating a fluid offense that spreads the floor.
But how can a center maintain that pick-and-pop identity when the threat of the pop suddenly evaporates?
That’s been a central question for the Bulls this year as Vučević continues to struggle to complete his 3-pointers out of pick-and-roll actions. For Donovan, the key is to shift focus away from those missed shots and onto the parts of the game that Vučević can still dominate from above the break.
“He obviously can play from the post, he can play inside the pocket, he can stretch the floor, keeps the ball alive, he’s a good reversal guy, all those kinds of things,” Donovan said. “I don’t see, from my perspective, that it’s a skill issue. I think he’s more than capable.”
This means embracing the aspects of the pick-and-pop game that go beyond simply shooting when the ball sprays out behind the arc. Donovan noted Vučević’s savvy in moving the ball for the next pass after the spray-out, whether that means putting the ball on the floor or skipping a cross-court pass.
“I think he’s one of our better drivers in terms of generating the next play or the next shot for somebody,” Donovan said.
When shots aren’t falling, this is the part of the center’s game that Donovan wants to dig into. And if teams want to dare Vučević to shoot from behind the arc? Donovan is all for that — it only gives Vučević more space to work with, whether he plans to pass or shoot.
Even when his shot has gone awry, the Bulls still value Vučević for his durability and reliability. His execution of the pick-and-roll and his presence in the pocket are central cogs in the operation of the offense. And Vučević has still managed to slightly outscore his average from last season.
But the Bulls also need shooting. The transformation of one of Vučević’s strengths into a weakness is another major loss for the Bulls this season. And if this is the new status quo, the front office will have yet another question to answer in the offseason.