At times this season, Daryl Morey and Doc Rivers have intimated that they didn’t get enough credit for bringing in Georges Niang. I’d argue that most fans and media did applaud the move, but that it didn’t get a ton of publicity 1) because Niang was coming in as a bench guy and 2) because the Ben Simmons bullshit overshadowed everything that took place in the summer.

Regardless, the move has been a great one for the Sixers. Two years, $6.3 million for a guy who is playing the best basketball of his career right now.

Niang went for 14 and 7 in a road win over the stinky Pistons on Thursday night. Detroit is “turrible,” as Charles Barkley would say, but the Sixers had multiple starters missing and were on the second night of a back-to-back, so you have to give credit where it’s due. That’s a game in the past where Joel Embiid would have sat and the Sixers would have found a way to lose.

The best part about Niang’s game is that he’s become a three-point chucker in the NBA. His experience playing for an analytically-sound Jazz team is paying dividends this year as he fills a role the Sixers just didn’t have last year, which is stretch four coming off the bench.

It’s not surprising that his seasonal shot chart looks like this:

That’s a work of art. The data guys will love that he’s shot 70% of his field goals from three and hasn’t taken a single long two at all. Not one! Everything has either been from behind the arc or in that paint/foul line/base line area. He’s shooting 41.8% from three this year and is third on the team in 3P%, behind only Seth Curry and Danny Green.

That 41.8% is not a career-best, though it’s very close. Niang shot 42.5% last season but took two fewer attempts and played six fewer minutes on average. His volume is up across the board this year because he’s playing a more significant role and seeing more of the ball, as you can see in this table here:

A couple of other things to note about Niang’s play this year:

  • That 70% three-point attempt rate? He’s done that consistently over the last few years. Last year the number was 72% and the year prior it was also 70%. He really did not turn into the player he is until his fourth year in the league.
  • He was waived by the Pacers originally and had to go through the G League to make it back to the NBA. He originally signed with Utah on a two-way deal.
  • Niang only had two 20-point games last year. Through nine this year, he’s got a 21 point game and an 18 point game.
  • He’s actually got the fifth-highest usage percentage on the Sixers right now. 19.2.
  • Only Curry and Green have better true shooting and effective field goal numbers.
  • Niang has never been a playmaker, but this year has a team-high 3.20 assist/turnover ratio.
  • 91.3% of his threes this year have been assisted. That just shows the Sixers are moving well and passing well. No isolation or standing around type of possessions.

It’s early, and the Sixers have some guys banged up and unavailable, which elevates his usage, but Niang has proven to be a great signing so far. Even the GOAT Jim Gardner recognizes it: