Examining Duncan Robinson’s three-point milestone. Also, a Heat and Hornets injury update

The Miami Heat has been pushing and programming Duncan Robinson to put up as many open to semi-open to sometimes even contested three-point shots as he can get generate since he first signed with the organization as an undrafted free agent in 2018. That green light, along with elite three-point shooting, helped Robinson make NBA history.

Robinson, the 27-year sharpshooting forward, hit his 500th career NBA three in Saturday night’s road win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. He became the fastest player in league history to make 500 threes, reaching the milestone in his 152nd regular-season NBA game.

Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic previously held that title, as he made his 500th career three in his 187th game.

Takeaways and reaction from Heat’s road win over Cavaliers. Also, a look at what comes next

“It’s a huge, huge part of it,” Robinson said, in advance of Sunday night’s road matchup against the Charlotte Hornets, of the opportunity and role he found with the Heat as an undrafted prospect. “I could’ve done all the exact things that I did. Of course, I feel like I was prepared and capable. But the point being is I could have checked all those same boxes and not gotten the opportunity that I did. [Coach Erik Spoelstra] used to say this and I’ve kind of taken it as my own, just continuing to show up and be consistent, I think is an incredibly underrated skill. I think it’s something that a lot of people overlook.

“To be honest with you, that’s a lot of what I’ve prided myself on in my entire career. The records are what they are, but more so the fact that I just continue to show up. That doesn’t mean that I’m always like perfect or playing great. Of course, I make mistakes and miss a lot of shots and everything in between. But a goal that I know I can always set for myself and always live up to is I’m just always showing up.”

How impressive is Robinson’s accomplishment? No other player in NBA history has even made 400 threes in their first 152 regular-season games.

Behind Robinson, Hornets guard Devonte’ Graham is next on the list with 384 made three-pointers in his first 152 games. Then comes Doncic (379 threes), Atlanta’s Trae Young (378 threes) and Portland’s Damian Lillard (374 threes).

“That is a staggering statistic, if you think about it,” Spoelstra said of Robinson’s milestone. “It really is a credit to how much work he has put in to his craft to develop his shooting ability on the move, under duress and evolve versus different coverages and scouting reports that are designed to take him out of that shot.

“I think it’s also a credit to his teammates, who really work to get him open starting with Bam [Adebayo] and [Jimmy Butler]. Bam really committed to getting Duncan a handful of free looks every game and JB always attracts a crowd. With the way he plays and how unselfish he is, that usually opens up things for Duncan. It’s a great symbiotic relationship. But it is very impressive that he has done it that quickly.”

After setting a Heat record for threes made (270) in his first full NBA season last year, Robinson entered Sunday ranked fourth in the NBA with 222 made threes while shooting 40.7 percent on 8.5 three-point attempts per game this season. Among the 15 players averaging eight or more three-point shots per game this season, Robinson owns the third-best three-point percentage behind only Golden State’s Stephen Curry (42.6 percent) and Chicago’s Zach LaVine (41.6 percent).

For his NBA career, Robinson has hit 502 threes on 42.3 percent shooting from deep in 152 regular-season games.

“I’m grateful,” Robinson said. “I certainly didn’t expect to have these sort of accolades or records. So in that respect, it’s an honor. Yeah, I try to stay even-keeled with it. I try to keep everything in perspective. I’m sure there’s going to be somebody that comes around, and instead of 85 percent of his shots are threes, 95 percent of his shots are threes and this record will be short-lived. It’s humbling and it’s kind of like hard for me to wrap my mind around.”

Because of Adebayo’s symbiotic on-court relationship with Robinson, Adebayo believes he deserves a reward for Robinson’s historic accomplishment. With the help of many dribble hand-offs, Adebayo has assisted on 143 of Robinson’s 502 threes — 28.5 percent of them.

“Duncan needs to take [me] to dinner,” Adebayo said jokingly. “That’s how I feel about it.”

Robinson is expected to earn a sizable pay raise this upcoming offseason when he’s set to become a restricted free agent. He’s on a $1.7 million salary this season, and comparable players such as Brooklyn Nets sharpshooter Joe Harris signed a four-year, $75 million contract and Washington Wizards three-point specialist Davis Bertans signed a five-year, $80 million as free agents last offseason.

“He’s great trigger for us and he makes all the right reads, which is shoot it when I pass it to him,” Adebayo said. “That’s always going to be the right read. But just seeing a guy like that come from where he came from to become the fastest player in the NBA to hit 500 threes, that’s crazy to me. Props to Duncan, but he needs to take [me] to dinner.”

INJURY REPORT

The Heat listed veteran guard Goran Dragic as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Hornets on the second night of a back-to-back because of lower back/right knee injury recovery. But Dragic, 34, is available to play.

Heat guards Tyler Herro (right foot soreness) and Victor Oladipo (right knee soreness) are not on the trip and remain out. Herro will miss his fifth straight game and Oladipo will miss his 13th straight game.

Herro and Oladipo are the only two Heat players unavailable for Sunday’s contest.

For the Hornets, forward Gordon Hayward remains out with a sprained right foot.