NBA News NBA News, Match Reports and Updates 
Last season, De’Anthony Melton committed a career-high 1.9 turnovers per game, and made only 29.4 percent of his three-point attempts. You could say he was all thumbs.
He may have a better grasp of his game in 2026-27 thanks to some offseason procedures.
Melton was slowed last season by an injury to his right thumb and apparently, also his left thumb. Not only did Melton have trouble shooting or handling the ball, particularly in the last month of the season, but he was unable to hitchhike, review movies, or efficiently make decisions using a rule of thumb. Not only was Melton not making three-pointers, he wasn’t able to make the classic NBA three-point gesture, holding up his third-through-fifth fingers while making a circle with the pointer finger and thumb.
Advertisement
But now after taking both thumbs in for refurbishing, Melton is poised for a bounceback season, after honestly bouncing back pretty nicely last season, averaging 12.3 points per game in his return from an ACL tear early in the 2024-25 season. Despite going through an undeclared thumb war last year, Melton has been otherwise healthy for the start of the season for the first time in years, after rehabbing a knee last year and working through back problems two years ago.
It’s a shocking update for a team that normally only announces mysterious illnesses, secret surgeries, contract impasses, and sucker punches during training camp. I haven’t thumbed through the GSOM archives yet, but this might be the best preseason news since JaVale McGee officially became a vegan in the fall of 2017.
But Melton truly could be a floor-raising player for the Warriors, if they can get more than the 23 minutes per game in 49 games they got last season. When healthy, Melton has been a very good defensive player, consistently averaging two or more “stonks” (steals + blocks) and an above-average three-point shooter. He’s not a true point guard, but when all his fingers work, Melton can reliably bring the ball up and not embarrass the offense.
If the Warriors are going to find success next season, it’s likely going to be because of their defense. Having a healthy,…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/warriors-melton-thumbing-way-back-083211329.html
Author :
Publish date : 2026-10-02 08:32:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
