Looking at his stats, some may think Frye is a shooting guard in the NBA. Checking his listed height, he could be a center.
Frye has an interesting mix of shooting skills and height, and if they invented a position on the floor called shooting center then Frye would be a good fit.
At 6-11 and a thin 245 pounds, Frye has played outside a lot during his NBA career and has hit over 350 three-pointers, at a very good percentage of 40%.
Frye was a star in college basketball, playing four quality seasons at Arizona. For his final two college years, Frye averaged around 16 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2 assists. The Knicks decided he was worth their lottery pick and made him the 8th pick in the 2005 NBA draft.
Named to the All-Rookie First Team, Frye hit his medium-range jumpers and scored 12.3 points per game. His shooting touch was evident in his percentages, 48% from the field and 83% on free throws. Those numbers dropped a bit in his second year in the NBA.
After two solid seasons with the New York Knicks, Frye was part of a trade as Portland and the Knicks exchanged problems.
The complete trade was guard Steve Francis and Frye going to Portland, with forward Zach Randolph and guards Dan Dickau and Fred Jones joining the Knicks. Portland wanted to move out Randolph and New York didn’t need Francis. So Frye went from a team that knew how to use his skills to one where minutes were not really available, as Portland had LaMarcus Aldridge.
Portland only gave Frye 17 minutes in his first season with them, while in his second and last season there he only averaged 12 minutes per game. When Frye’s contract expired he signed with Phoenix as a free agent. Everyone expected that to be a perfect match.
Phoenix have always run and shot the ball a lot. A mobile tall with an outside shot was something that worked with their plays. It didn’t take Frye long to prove he belonged with the Suns, in his first season there he took 392 three-point shots and made 172 of them.
That gave Frye a three-point percentage for the season of an amazing 44%, and it also gave Nash someone open on the perimeter to pass to for assists.
Nash has always elevated the play, and percentages, of those who have played beside him. Many players have had their best seasons for shooting percentages when getting the ball from Nash and Frye has certainly benefited.
Something that Frye improved himself was his shot blocking numbers. He wasn’t known for blocking shots with New York or Portland but with Phoenix he is helping out and gets around 1 block per game. Frye has also lifted his steals and assists numbers too.
What Phoenix also get from Frye is spacing on the floor. With Frye standing at the three-point line waiting for a pass, it often means the other team’s best shot blocker is out of position, guarding out on the perimeter. This allows Nash to penetrate, for Hill to slash to the basket and for Dudley to score in the paint.