Iman Shumpert must not read a lot of basketball writing in his spare time, because when recently asked whether he would consider himself a “3 & D” player, Shumpert responded by saying “Don’t know what that is, but I’m not one.”
Asked Shumpert whether it would bug him/feel limiting to be called a 3-and-D guard. “Im not 3-and-D. I dunno what that is, but Im not one.”
— Chris Herring (@HerringWSJ) September 30, 2014
Shumpert: “If that’s what y’all wanna call me, y’all got it. But I’m not gonna co-sign that. … I’m a win-and-D guy. I’m an O-and-D guy.”
— Chris Herring (@HerringWSJ) September 30, 2014
The term “3 &D” has been thrown around in the basketball analytics community as a term of endearment recognizing the hard work of players who increase their value by playing hard defense and efficiently scoring their points on 3 point shots. Shumpert might not even fit into that category because he shoots a career 34% from 3 point range. I can understand Shumpert’s frustration for being categorized as a certain type of player, especially while he is in a contract year and has yet to receive an extension offer from the Knicks.
h/t @HerringWSJ