The former Alabama standout saw his opportunity and sprinted with it.
Sometimes when a player is waiting to break through, all they need is an opportunity.
Jaden Shackelford of the Valley Suns saw his opportunity when two-way players were away from the team and absolutely sprinted with it, scoring a career-high 41 points before one-upping himself the next game with 43 points.
In each of the Suns’ first three games of their inaugural campaign, the 6-foot-3, 200-pound Shackelford was afforded fewer shot attempts than two-ways TyTy Washington Jr. and Jalen Bridges. When the two were sent to the NBA club to add depth with Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal injured, the script immediately flipped.
His shot attempts went from 10.3 per game to 19 per game since, leading the team in each game.
But even more important than the opportunity was how the former Alabama standout performed when it came.
Over 824 previous 3-point attempts across Tip-Off Tournament and regular season games over the last two seasons and change, Shackelford nailed 37% of them. Then over 49 attempts in his last four games, his efficiency shot up to a blistering 53.1%.
The middle two games in that stretch stand out in a big way, knocking down 11 3s on his way to 41 points (Nov. 17 win over San Diego Clippers) before knocking down seven 3s and getting to the line a season-high eight times en route to 43 points the next game (Nov. 22 loss to San Diego Clippers).
Shackelford was the first of several trade acquisitions in the lead-up to the Valley Suns’ inaugural season, and it didn’t take long for positive chatter to bubble up.
When we first met John Little, the G League squad’s head coach circled Shackelford as one of the players who can potentially make the NBA leap in the near future.
When trying to appeal to such a perimeter-oriented NBA, the career outings were sure to have caught some eyes.