Sacramento Kings take your best shot: JaKarr Sampson

A Royal Pain continues our take your best shot series with a look at where JaKarr Sampson’s hot spot is on the basketball court.

The Sacramento Kings did significant business this offseason.  They brought in four new faces during the draft.  Then, the Kings added three new players in free agency.  They also secured a Euro-stash player and JaKarr Sampson and Jack Cooley on the new two-way contracts.  The squad will have a fresh look for the 2017-2018 season.

Today, we take a look at new acquisition JaKarr Sampson’s best shot.  Sampson joined the Kings on a two-way contract this offseason after applying his trade in the G-League last season.  He does have two years of NBA experience under his belt, so look for Sampson to be an essential component of the Reno Bighorns this season.  Without further ado, here is a look at JaKarr Sampson’s best shot.

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Sampson’s best shot

Below is JaKarr Sampson’s shot chart from last season when he played for the Iowa Energy in the G-League courtesy of NBA stats.

As you can see, Sampson loves to attack the basket and has his most success around the rim.  A 59.0% connect percentage from in close is significantly above league average and impressive for a 6’8 small forward.  Sampson is a poor 3-point shooter, so if he wants to earn his way back to the NBA, he must consistently get to the bucket and score.

It will be interesting to see if Sampson continues to improve his 3-point shooting.  He shot 28.7% last season in the G-League well below the near 35% league average, but an improvement on previous seasons.  If Sampson can become even a 32% shooter from deep, he could earn a bench role in the NBA.

Final Thoughts

There you have it, a look at where JaKarr Sampson takes his best shots.  I suspect Sampson will see action with both the Sacramento Kings and Reno Bighorns this season.  On his two-way contract, he can be with the Kings for a maximum of 45 days (not necessarily 45 games).  I would not be surprised to see him reach that peak especially with Sacramento’s lack of depth at the small forward position.  Hopefully, Sampson can continue to improve his ability to get to the rim and 3-point shooting to further round out his on-court game.

Next: 2018 NBA mock draft 1.0

A Royal Pain is the place for all things Sacramento Kings this season.  We have a ton of draft, free agency and summer league articles up on the site.  Our focus now shifts to providing you all the necessary information to be ready for training camp, so please check back often.  Thank you for reading.