Markus Howard, the EuroLeague's top scorer in 2024, is having an underwhelming 2024-25 campaign, while his numbers have taken a significant dip compared to his two previous seasons. But why did he get to this point and how are Baskonia and coach Pablo Laso trying to help him?
It all started with an award. On October 3, prior to Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz's EuroLeague season opener against Partizan Bet Belgrade at the Fernando Buesa Arena, Markus Howard was presented with his 2023-2024 Best Scorer Trophy.
It was his reward for producing an average of 19.5 points per contest over a total of 39 games – a considerable improvement from his rookie season overseas, which amounted to 14.2 points per outing.
As soon as he landed in Vitoria, Howard shut many doubters down by becoming the eighth player in EuroLeague history to have back-to-back games with at least 30 points.
In February 2023, he became the first player in the long history of the Spanish league to score 30 points in less than 20 minutes of playing time.
However, at the start of a campaign in which Howard was called to be Baskonia's cornerstone, the New Jersey native is struggling to reach his usual numbers.
He's averaging 14.6 points (almost five fewer than his 2023-24 season average) on 37.4% from the field over eight games in the ACB.
The dip is way bigger in his EuroLeague performances, where he's putting up 10.2 points on 32.7% FG and a dismal 31.0% from distance over his team's first 10 fixtures.
"For a shooter to make shots or miss them doesn't worry me because I know that in the end, he will reach his usual percentages," coach Pablo Laso appeared reassuring on November 7, before Baskonia took on Barcelona in the ACB.
However, numbers aren't on Laso's side since his team has lost 14 of their 21 games across the two main competitions.
And what's even worse, numbers aren't on Markus Howard's side either. The American guard is recording his worst shooting percentages since he arrived in Vitoria, which can be explained in many ways.
The only part of his game that has stood the test of time is his ACB 3-point shooting, where he appears to be slightly better this season (37.7% as opposed to 36.5%). What's more, he took 49 fewer attempts inside the arc overall compared to his 2023-24 season start.
Looking at his overall stats, one can assume that coach Laso's system or Howard's excessive trust in his outside shot rather than in his floater/mid-range jumper might have been the difference-makers.
"Clearly, Howard is a 3-point shooter by nature and by birth," Javier Lekuona, Head of Sports at SER Vitoria and Baskonia reporter at AS, tells BasketNews.
"What he likes to do is shoot the ball. He can try to penetrate, but I think that's where he feels more comfortable at. He's short, but he's agile, and he can jump. But he's always shot more 3-pointers than 2-point shots," Lekuona adds.
But Laso's system has also played a part in Howard's transformation.
"Upon arrival, Laso found out that
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