The white sports management has set its sights on Mikael Jantunen and Max Shulga to bolster outside shooting, the team's major shortcoming since Jaycee Carroll retired in 2021. Three-point shooting percentages have notably declined over the last decade.
The Real Madrid basketball team has focused on two players with a common denominator: proficiency from the three-point line. Mikael Jantunen and Max Shulga are the chosen ones to try to restore the external efficiency that was lost after Jaycee Carroll's retirement in 2021. Both arrive with the mission of filling the void left by the legendary shooting guard.
The post-Carroll era: a decade of decline in three-point shooting
Since Carroll hung up his boots, Real Madrid has not found a pure shooter. The Wyoming native averaged 44% shooting in ACB and 42.1% in EuroLeague during his time with the team (2011-2021). In that decade, Pablo Laso's team achieved a 38.6% overall effectiveness in the Endesa League, reaching 43% in the 2015/16 season. In the EuroLeague, the average was 37.26%.
However, in the five years following his departure, the numbers have plummeted. In the first season without Carroll (2021/22), Madrid recorded a 35.3% in both competitions. Since then, it has never surpassed 38% in ACB, although it came close in EuroLeague on two occasions: 37.8% in 23/24 and 37.7% in 24/25. Last season, however, the team fell below 35%.
In the ACB ranking, Madrid has dropped from being the third best team in three-point shooting over the last ten years —with four top finishes (2011/12, 2014/15, 2015/16, and 2019/20)— to falling to seventh place with a 35.76%. In EuroLeague, the decline has been more gradual: from 37.26% to 36.22% in the last five seasons.
Musa, the only one who came close; Krämer, underutilised
In the search for a generational replacement, only Dzanan Musa has managed figures close to Carroll's. The Bosnian averaged 43.3% in ACB and 38.5% in EuroLeague during his three years at the club. However, his profile is not that of a traditional pure shooter: he lacks the ability to catch and shoot on the move that characterised the American.
In the shooting guard position, the decline has been even more pronounced. Except for David Krämer, who has just left for Red Star after a season with a 41.6% shooting in ACB, no other player has surpassed 35% effectiveness from three-point range. Causeur (35.6% in 22/23) and Maledon (35.3% in 25/26) are the only ones who have approached that barrier. The German, despite his good numbers, was underutilised by coach Sergio Scariolo, which led to his departure.
Failed bets and a new direction
The sports management, led by Juan Carlos Sánchez, previously tried to replace Carroll with signings like Xavier Rathan-Mayes in 2024, a gamble that did not pay off. Now, with Jantunen and Shulga, they are seeking a more specific profile: players capable of shooting after a screen and with good percentages from distance. Jantunen, despite his modest stint at Fenerbahçe, and Shulga, young and with little NBA experience, are seen as long-term solutions to a problem that has persisted for five years.
For Real Madrid fans, the arrival of these two players brings hope of seeing a lethal team from the perimeter again. The upcoming season will be crucial to determine whether this gamble pays off or if the club will need to continue searching for Carroll's heir.
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