Detroit Pistons: Is Killian Hayes the NBA’s worst shooter?

It’s been another tough year for Killian Hayes of the Detroit Pistons.

He started the season slowly before putting tougher the best 20-game stretch of his career, but something happened to him when he returned to his home country of France for the Paris game against the Bulls.

Since then, Hayes’ shooting has been abysmal, as he has averaged just 30 percent from the floor and 23 percent from the 3-point line. We know he can pass and play defense, but it’s hard to keep him on the floor when he can’t make a shot, which was literally the case last night, as he went 0-for-6 in the loss to Charlotte.

Detroit has been about as patient as they can be with the young guard, as he does do things that impact the game positively, but with the addition of Jaden Ivey, and more recently RJ Hampton, it’s possible that the patience the Pistons have shown will soon run out, especially considering Hayes is up for an extension this offseason.

Killian Hayes isn’t just the worst shooter on the Detroit Pistons, but the numbers point to him being the worst shooter in the entire NBA.

Detroit Pistons: Killian Hayes’ field goal percentage

According to StatMuse, Killian Hayes has the lowest field goal percentage in the NBA this season and it’s not really even close. He is shooting just 36.7 percent on the season overall, with Gabe Vincent (the 2nd-worst) shooting two percentage points better in the same number of minutes.

Hayes’ shooting numbers have dipped from last year, when he shot 38 percent overall and at least hit 45 percent of his 2-point attempts. This season, Hayes is making just 40 percent from 2-point range and has continued his futility from behind the 3-point arc, making just 29 percent of his 3.8 attempts per game from long range.

As Hayes’ attempts have gone up this season, his percentage has gone down, so this has not been the breakout year we were hoping for from the 21-year-old guard. This is the second season in a row in which Hayes has been in the bottom five of field goal percentage in the league.

Hopefully, Hayes can follow in the footsteps of Marcus Smart, who has evolved into an impact NBA player even though he struggles to make shots, but the question is whether that evolution will happen in Detroit or somewhere else.