How Phoenix Suns big man Deandre Ayton becomes an All-Star next season

3. Ayton develops his three-point shot and earns more trips to the free-throw line.

Two aspects that haven’t really developed during Ayton’s four-year career – his three point-shot and capacity to get to the free-throw line.

He currently possesses a deadly mid-range jump shot, taking advantage of the space created by Paul and Devin Booker in the pick-and-roll game. With that and nice touch around the rim, there’s no coincidence as to why he shoots over 60% from the floor.

But the exquisite mid-range jumper has never really developed further out onto the perimeter, taking just 0.3 three-point shots per game in each of the last three seasons.

He actually shot a decent 36.8% from beyond the arc last season. While no one expects him to become a sniper from deep, he should be working towards averaging nearly one attempt per game next season.

Ayton’s work on the interior is good, but his lack of aggression is often a question mark. He can regularly settle for little baby hooks from a few feet, rather than go up emphatically with a dunk or layup attempt.

This is reflected in the lack of free-throw attempts, with his career high 2.7 attempts per game achieved during his rookie season.

If Ayton elevates to over three free-throw attempts per game, shoots nearly one three a game, and yields a couple more field goal attempts, then he likely gets himself to 20 points per game.

A 20 point, ten rebound per game player? That garners All-Star attention should the Suns remain a top seed in the Western Conference as expected.

All of this really comes down to Ayton’s mentality to improve during the offseason, then the team’s ability to facilitate his improvement once the season rolls around.