Jason Kidd dismisses Michael Carter-Williams' shooting struggles

Jason Kidd is a player that Michael Carter-Williams found himself being compared to prior to his selection by the Sixers in the 2013 NBA Draft. There were obvious similarities between the two, including solid size for the point guard position, court vision, and some shaky shooting.

The comparisons continued as Michael Carter-Williams took home the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award last May, just as Kidd had done back in ’95 (he shared the award with Grant Hill). Carter-Williams took home the hardware despite his shooting struggles; struggles that Kidd is very familiar with.  

Kidd, the current coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, shot an anemic 38% from the field in his rookie campaign, shy of even Carter-Williams’ 40%. Kidd’s shooting slipped even further when he took it long-range, as he shot only 27% from behind the arc in his rookie season. After that rookie campaign, not many people expected Kidd to become one of the league’s most prolific three-point shooters, but today Kidd sits as the NBA’s fourth-leading three-point maker all-time.

He was never one of the league’s best shooters, but after a shaky start, he improved over time to the level of respectability (35% for his career from deep) and coupled with the other strengths of his game such as passing and rebounding, he was able to develop into one of the league’s premier point guards.

Kidd was in Philadelphia with his Bucks on Wednesday, and was asked about the Sixers young point guard. Kidd revealed that he was not too concerned about the reigning Rookie of the Year’s shooting struggles.

“He’s a guy that can fill up the stat sheet,” Kidd said of Carter-Williams. “He understands the game. Shooting will come.”

Kidd was able to excel in the league, despite an inconsistent shot, especially early on, and maybe he sees the same potential in Carter-Williams. Like Kidd, Carter-Williams can impact the game in a variety of ways, and also like Kidd, he will greatly benefit from improving upon his shooting stroke.