A Good Mid-Range Shooting Percentage: Top 5 Mid-Range Shooters in NBA
Basketball analysts are divided on whether or not the mid-range jump shot is still essential in today's NBA. The evidence suggests that the league is moving farther from the centre, even if this has been said repeatedly. But because of the excellent performance of a handful of players, the mid-range game is here to stay.
Top Mid-range shooters in the NBA:
— Jeremy Bauman (@JB_For_3_) July 9, 2010
http://www.slamonline.com/online/nba/2010/07/top-25-mid-range-shooters/comment-page-1/#comment-1227701
However, superstars like DeRozan, Kevin Durant, and Chris Paul have succeeded with the mid-range shot even though the league has moved away from it over the last decade.
Defensive strategies have shifted as a result, with more emphasis placed on the outside rather than the centre, as teams attempt to avoid the centre of the court to open up space. Most current defences discourage long-range shooting and limit 3-point attempts to promote mid-range shooting.
The mid-range jump shot demonstrates the concept of using the opportunities provided by the defender to one's advantage. In addition, victory is within reach if you master the art of overcoming your foe's defences.
It would be impossible to defeat you if you possessed Durant's multitasking and strength.
Here are the top five players of the season in terms of their percentage from midrange.
1. DeMar DeRozan
- Efficiency (FG%): 45.3%
- Shot Dependency (frequency): 69.5%
- Output (FGM per 100 poss.): 7.2
DeMar DeRozan's name would definitely be near the top of any current midrange shooter list. Even if all of the NBA players decided to just shoot from the foul line or the rim, DeRozan would be capable of maintaining the midrange game.
In the Los Angeles area where DeRozan grew up, there was no tv. He says that he watched a lot of Kobe Bryant matches. Like Bryant, who was previously an all-star in his way, DeRozan has evolved into a master of the mid-range.
Motivated him to average 20.0 points each game for seven years running. According to the numbers, he depends on these possibilities more frequently than any other NBA player.
And it's proven out; for the past five years in a row, he's had more efficiency with his mid-range jumper than his long-range shots.
Since it looks so delightful, it's hard to hold it against him because he desires to consume it so often.
2. Kevin Durant
- Efficiency (FG%): 52.5%
- Shot Dependency (frequency): 51.7%
- Output (FGM per 100 poss.): 6.6
In a heartbeat, you can see Kevin Durant is a marvellous shooter from everywhere on the floor by examining his shot chart.
The middle range, in particular, does reasonably well. In the summer of 2019, he suffered an Achilles injury.
Whenever the rim or three-point line is protected, Durant says you shouldn't ever settle for a shot with a lower probability of going in.
A player's true potential will remain unrealized unless they devote time and energy to enhancing their mid-range shooting. For Durant, this is the case. He has played for enough time to understand when a shot is dropping like water.
3. Chris Paul
- Efficiency (FG%): 51.2%
- Shot Dependency (frequency): 54.7%
- Output (FGM per 100 poss.): 5.5
Suns point guard Chris Paul, at almost 35, had perhaps his best season. His midcourt jumper shot accuracy was a significant factor in this.
Paul produced a season that ranks in the top 25 most productive from midrange over the last quarter-century. In part due to his ability to score off the pass, Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton seem to have made significant advances in 2020-21 compared to the years preceding his arrival in Phoenix.
Paul's pull-up jumpers from the right knee have been the most accurate shot he's taken throughout his career, including eleven participation in the All-Star game.
Midrange players, though, have an increased chance to work off ball screens as defenders' focus has shifted to the centre and the outside. As defenders run out from under the basket, Paul may take advantage by dribbling off the pick and either finding an open shooter on the perimeter or taking a long two.
A recent statistic has him atop the league in two-point pull-up attempts per game. Against the Denver Nuggets in the finals, he made eight consecutive mid-range shots, demonstrating the effectiveness of his game plan. To help the Suns keep their conference title and give his opponents nightmares, Paul will likely continue to provide Phoenix with an advantage whenever he enters the game.
He made the second-most mid-range throws to his teammates in the NBA, behind only Russell Westbrook, according to PBP Stats (162 times). Given this, he may well be acclaimed as the apogee's unmatched king.
4. Kawhi Leonard
- Efficiency (FG%): 46.1%
- Output (FGM per 100 poss.): 6.2
- Shot Dependency (frequency): 49.3%
Despite being compared to NBA superstars like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is entirely unlike any of them.
While Jordan and Bryant have similar offensive approaches, Leonard is more in line with them. Such comparisons are not without merit. Leonard used Bryant as a "mechanical model" since he was still a young player with the Spurs.
Leonard was inspired by his time spent training with the five-time NBA champion. Despite the small sample size, he was successful on 67.7 per cent of his throws from beyond the foul and three-point lines.
Last season, a league-average 67.5 per cent of shots were made within three feet of the basket, as compiled by Basketball-Reference.
5. Nikola Jokic
- Efficiency (FG%): 45.3%
- Shot Dependency (frequency): 46.1%
- Output (FGM per 100 poss.): 5.8
After learning that Nikola Jokic is the league MVP, most individuals naturally assume he is a talented playmaker. When a 7-footer routinely records a triple-double, it's straightforward to assess his effectiveness.
His work is much more impressive. Jokic and Jamal Murray became a dynamic duo, and despite Murray's injury, the Nuggets sailed to an easy playoff appearance.
They were a dangerous duo in the traditional pick-and-roll offence, with Jokic often setting a screen and then flying for a jump shot off the catch from anywhere inside the 3-point arc.
The remarkable array of movements supplied by Jokic and Murray, including unique 5-1 PNR setups and clever dribble-handoff actions, is the real story. In one example, Denver may use a strange inverted ball screen with Jokic as the primary ball handler. He could also fake a pass while maintaining possession to create space for mid-range attempts.
To further demonstrate his versatility, he would sometimes make a jump shot while dribbling toward the basket after placing a screen. Performing a drop step in the area or launching a hooked jumper from the elbow, Jokic is one of the league's sharpest threats.
Over the last several seasons, Robin Lopez has been the only player in the NBA to match his efficiency and effectiveness from the short midrange.
Using the Sombor Shuffle, the big man can draw his opponent to the block, then fake a push to the basket on his left foot while launching a one-dribble fadeaway jumper from his right.
He said he began using it after breaking his left foot and determined not to take any risks with further discomfort. Draymond Green, the reigning defensive player of the year, looked unhappy as he put up the shot.
Defending his mid-range jumper is impossible because of his towering height, superb footwork, and enormously high jump-shot launching point. Only human cannonball Zion Williamson made more two-pointers than him this past season when his opponents were within two to four feet of him.
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In other words, if the opposing team decides to double Jokic, he will still be able to find an open teammate for a layup owing to his superior playmaking abilities. This makes him more valuable than everyone else on the team.
What exactly will the NBA do when these superstars retire? Will all these players demonstrate the importance of the good mid-range shot and influence the next generation to fall into line, and will the mid-range shot begin its dramatic decrease?