How Arike Ogunbowale can continue to grow and expand her game
Ogunbowale carries the Dallas Wings offensively. For Dallas to take the next step, she needs to continue to become an efficient multi-level scorer
It’s a scary proposition to say Arike Ogunbowale can still get better.
The fourth-year all-star is averaging nearly 20 points per game while attempting more threes than any year prior in her career.
“You can’t stop her, I think everybody knows that,” Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve said to Peter Warren of the Dallas Morning News earlier this season. “She’s explosive. When she gets that 3-ball going and she’s taken what, eight a game, she gets that 3-ball going and you’re getting out long on her and she’s able to explode by you.”
As a dexterous finisher, Ogunbowale has a propensity to score near the basket with seeming ease. She never knows a matchup that isn’t favorable to her in one sense or another. Yet, this season, she’s choosing to take more 3-point shots to open up the rest of her offensive game.
Through 27 games played, Ogunbowale has attempted 216 3-pointers, the highest mark of her career.
However, shockingly, what hasn’t followed is a dramatic decrease in 3-point efficiency.
At 35.6 percent from 3-point range, Ogunbowale’s percentages sit right around her career averages (35.7 percent). The 3-point shot, the great equalizer in basketball, has become Ogunbowale’s go-to offensive weapon. And it is something that, throughout her four-year career, she has worked on tirelessly.
“I think it’s important for her to attack the defense in multiple ways,” Wings coach Vickie Johnson said. “[We’ve] encouraged her to take those shots.”
Steady efficiency with increased shot attempts may indicate Ogunbowale is turning a corner in her career.
Throughout her time in the WNBA, she’s been a volume scorer — never fearing taking the difficult shots her team needs her to. As a result, she’s led the league in missed shots for two-straight seasons.
She may be on pace for a third. Yet, to be a great scorer, Ogunbowale needs to take tough shots. However, as of late, she’s made them.
On Sunday, against the Indiana Fever, Ogunbowale scored 22 points on 50 percent field goal shooting (9-18) in a desperately needed win.
And previously, on July 14, she scored 32 points on 50 percent shooting from the field (12-24) in a win over Minnesota.
Her game was nearly mistake-free from a scorer’s point of view. So, it’s no surprise that in both cases, Dallas found a way to win.
In the 12 wins Dallas holds this season, Ogunbowale averages 23 points per game on 45 percent from the field and 43 percent from 3-point range. Both percentage marks are dramatically better than her overall regular season averages, indicating that for Dallas to enter the echelon of contenders in the WNBA it all starts with Ogunbowale getting even better.
Ogunbowale is one of the league’s most potent scorers. During this season, she’s shown a commitment to adding to her overall offensive game by way of increased perimeter jump shots.
If efficiency follows, stopping her — for opposing defenses — will be seemingly out of the question.