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1 for 24.
Kyle Korver has been one of the best shooters in the NBA since he arrived in the league in 2003, and the Atlanta Hawks swingman enjoyed the best season of his career in 2014-2015. Korver flirted with 50% shooting from beyond the three-point line for much of the season before settling at an NBA-leading 49.2% for the year, and non-coincidentally, the Hawks soared to 60 wins as Korver was named to the All-Star team.
1 for 24.
Now, many are assuming that Korver is done based upon the numbers above. Yes, Kyle Korver has connected on just one of his past 24 attempts from three-point distance, including a two-game stretch in which he missed all 18 of his shots from beyond the arc.
This kind of slump is unthinkable for Korver, but it is just that.
A slump.
For the season, Korver is (still) shooting 36.2% from three, and prior to this blip, that number was sitting at an incredibly solid 41.7% from distance. That is certainly a dip from the historic performance that the now 34-year-old put together a year ago, but only his ridiculous standard of excellence could make a clip of nearly 42% seem ordinary, or even disappointing, in the eyes of many.
The argument that Korver is slipping is a fair one, if given proper context. At the age of 34 and coming off ankle surgery, it was safe to assume that the 2014-2015 edition of Korver was never going to return. Unrealistic expectations are often the source of overreaction in the sports world, and this is a prime example of that phenomenon. If we were to flash back all of one week, Korver's 41.7% clip would look just fine and his impact remains overtly positive. Now, the charge is simply to avoid the pitfalls of overreaction.
Kyle Korver isn't going to shoot 49.2% from three this season, and that is the reality. However, there is absolutely no reason to expect that he won't top 40% once again, and for those jumping to the notion that a three-game sample is suddenly the new "normal" for one of the elite shooters of his generation, best of luck.