The Sacramento Kings are boasting just a 3-6 record to start the season, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have some positive storylines early on in the year. Russell Westbrook is stealing headlines with his vintage performances, and Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan continue to get much-deserved recognition, but there’s a player who has quietly had a great start to the year in a familiar role: Malik Monk.
Monk was the subject of trade rumors all offseason, from the Detroit Pistons’ sign-and-trade talks to the months-long Jonathan Kuminga saga; it seemed like the sixth man of the year candidate was on his way out of Sacramento. But instead, he’s back for his fourth season in Sacramento and playing great basketball off the bench once again.
On the season, Monk is averaging 16.3 points, 2.1 assists, and 1.9 rebounds on 55.4% shooting from the field and 52.9% from three. It’s a slight dip in overall scoring, as Monk averaged 17.2 points last season, but he took 14.4 field goal attempts per contest last year. This season, he’s taking just 10.6 field goals per game.
And while he’s not facilitating like he has in the past, there’s a stat that stands out that shows how Monk has maintained his scoring with an increased efficiency. His overall three-point percentage of 52.9% is extremely impressive, but a deeper look shows even more. His catch-and-shoot three-point percentage is sitting at a staggering 60.9% through his first seven games of the season.
During training camp, Monk talked about how he worked on his catch-and-shoot three during the offseason, and it’s still a small sample size, but the work is paying off early this year. It’s by far the highest mark on his catch-and-shoot looks in his nine-year career, as he shot just 34.7% on the looks last season.
This Kings team is filled with scorers and players who thrive with the ball in their hands, so they need players who can simply make threes off the catch. We still see Monk get to the rim and create for others, but him upping his efficiency on the easy looks has been huge for the team so far.
There are still a lot of questions about this Kings season, and it’s possible Monk’s name resurfaces in trade rumors, but there’s no denying that he’s playing great basketball. It’s even more impressive after a tumultuous offseason filled with trade rumors. The gaudy catch-and-shoot numbers might end up being a small sample size fluke, but for now, hats off to Monk for putting in the work in the offseason and getting the early results.