Who was the hottest on the outside?

The 3-point shot has become the NBA's ultimate equalizer. Once just a novel strategy, it now powers some of the league's most explosive offenses. In recent years, teams have taken the high ball to new heights, using it as a deadly weapon that can decide games in a matter of seconds. It is no longer just a specialist requirement, but a fundamental part of how teams build and maintain their effectiveness.

After the Boston Celtics did their best to completely break the mathematical equation with historic 3-pointers last season en route to the championship, it's clear that the long ball is here to stay.

The math just makes sense. A 3-point shot is worth 150 percent of a 2-point shot. So if you can run it at a high enough rate, it's easy. It can also be quite fickle, inspiring the old saying: “You live by the three, you die by the three.” But teams are getting better at it and it distorts the geometry of the ground so effectively that the gamble is worth it when you have the necessary personnel and strategic discipline to get them up with a good view of the basket.

As we are still early in the season, it will take a few more weeks for things to stabilize, but there are a few teams that have stood out for their performance so far.

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For comparison, last season the Oklahoma City Thunder led the league in 3-point percentage with 38.9 percent, and the year before that the Philadelphia 76ers led the league with 38.7 percent. So far, three teams have broken the 40 percent mark. That's a tall order, but could a team exceed that threshold for the entire season? That's not unusual, but it hasn't happened since the shortened 2020-21 season, when the LA Clippers finished the year with a rate of 41.1 percent.

Despite all the talk about the new shape of his sweater, Mikal Bridges is shooting 38.7 percent on 3s for a Knicks team that leads the league in that category. This is mainly due to the great shots from Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson, who are each shooting over 50 percent so far.

The Cavaliers, Warriors, Hornets and Timberwolves round out the top five in 3-point percentage at this point. The Warriors shouldn't be a surprise with Stephen Curry and Buddy Hield shooting over 40 percent on over nine attempts per game, but the others might be a bit of a surprise.

Cleveland has high conversion rates, largely due to the number of players being limited to the best shooters. Their shooting percentage is actually below league average, but their top shooters – Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland and Sam Merrill – are all shooting 40 percent from three. A similar story can be observed in New York.

Minnesota and Charlotte, on the other hand, shoot quite well and quite often. In particular, Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball are each shooting over 15 three-pointers per 100 possessions and are shooting over 40 percent, which are crazy numbers. As their teams' leading ballplayers, they once again focus on shooting as much as possible from deep, whether you like it or not.

On the other end of the spectrum, teams should probably be a little afraid of the Thunder, who are undefeated at 6-0, doing this while scoring 3 points at a rate near the bottom of the league. After leading the league last season, one might expect things to only get better with time, which is a frightening thought.

In a data point that won't shock anyone, the Celtics lead the league in 3-point attempts per 100 possessions (49.8). With their highest attempt percentage and success rate in the top ten, it's no wonder they have the best offense in the league.

The rest of the top five and bottom performers in attempt frequency are:

Rank 2 – 5: Hornets (44.7), Warriors (42.0), Timberwolves (41.8), Bulls (41.3)

Rank 26 – 30: Grizzlies (32.0), Pacers (31.6), Lakers (30.1), Nuggets (29.6), Raptors (29.5)

With the Pacers falling far behind from last season to this season, they could feel the effects of the departure of Buddy Hield, who was crucial to that part of their offense.

Conversely, with the departure of DeMar DeRozan from Chicago, the Bulls have a high shooting and conversion rate, both in the top ten in the league, which could be a reason for their surprisingly competent start to the season. But be careful, because despite this shot, the Bulls are 29th in the league in offensive rating, according to NBA.com. Obviously, there's more to scoring efficiently in this league than just scoring from downtown.

To get a more complete picture, we can take a look at where each team in the league falls in terms of efficiency and frequency on 3-point shots so far this season:

The Lakers have talked a lot about increasing the 3-point attempt rate in training camp, but have yet to see it come to fruition. The Suns, who made similar statements, actually followed through on their word, ranking sixth with 3 percentage points and the 10th most frequently.

The much-hyped addition of Karl-Anthony Towns as a stretch five for the Knicks hasn't really resulted in a higher 3-point attempt rate overall. Although he and his teammates hit them quite well, it appears that Julius Randle's shooting-finding prowess, as well as Donte DiVincenzo's insane attempt percentage, may have been more important in producing those shots than first thought.

As mentioned, we are not far enough into the season to have a sample size that inspires too much confidence, but some of these trends will inevitably continue. The team's average attempt rate has increased by two attempts per 100 possessions compared to last season, perhaps indicating that we will carry on An upward trend can be seen league-wide. Rest assured, the focus isn't going away any time soon and it will be fascinating to see how things develop as the season progresses.