by Bryan Kalbrosky Today, well take a closer look at the top 10 mid-range shooters in the league and see which players have excelled in mastering the lost art of the mid-range jumper. Put it all together and his massive size and his insane footwork, as well as the supremely high release point on his jumper, makes his mid-range an absurdly tough shot to defend. The analytics behind this evolution make sense; if youre going to shoot a 2-point shot, you want the highest percentage shot possible (dunks, layups and shots near the basket). Kevin Durant is scoring far more efficiently from the mid-range this Durant's usage percentage is at 23.8 percent . 1 is none other than Celtic great Larry Bird. Kevin Durant - NBA player profile page from WhatifSports Career FT%: 90.4% (2,135 FTM / 2,362 FTA). Just missing the cut on several occasions to make the 50-40-90 club, it was only his sub 50% field goal shooting that kept him from joining the list. And if you ask him, the minutes are a non-issue. He would go on to play 16 seasons in the NBA as a small forward. Allan was a solid if unspectacular shooter from the line during his early playing days. His last two seasons have been his best in the mid-range since his first two seasons in the NBA. Who was the MVP in each first-round series? The following players are also still actively shooting from mid-range: Chris Paul, DeMar Derozan, Featured, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokic, Top, Basketball, DunkWire, NBA, Basketball, DunkWire, NBA, Chris Paul, DeMar Derozan, Featured, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokic, Top. She is the host of "Short and to the Point" and is also a broadcaster with the Oakland A's Radio Network. Nash's form is impeccable and his demeanor unwavering. Chris Paul 14-15 .. 50.44. Usage percentage is an estimate of the percentage of plays that a player used while on the floor. KD leads the pack with 57%. In his primeand still to some extentPeja was lethal from both the charity stripe and long range. The league average shot from between zero and three feet of the basket was 67.5 percent this past season, according to Basketball-Reference. Kevin Durant is playing big minutes in NBA Playoffs, but Suns fans The mid-range jumper is a primary example of taking what the defense gives you. Taking away his seven PPG from free throws, mid-range jumpers account for 35 percent of Durant's scoring. Only four Chris Paul (64.3 percent), Seth Curry (65.7 percent), Nikola Jokic (68.8 percent) and LaMarcus Aldridge (78.6 percent). Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. It was a fairly small sample size but he was shooting 67.7 percent on his looks fired off between the free-throw line and the three-point line, per Cleaning the Glass. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. Durants 55.3 field goal percentage is also a career high. While still impressive, his free throw percentage would continue to decline after his first year being traded to the Utah Jazz. Kevin Durant's Scoring Brilliance Has The Brooklyn Nets Surging - Forbes Advanced Game Log However, he has Nash nipping at his heels with only a 0.1% point behind him. NBA/ABA. While DeRozan has scored at least 22% of his points from mid-range every season of his career and only scored more than 10% on 3-point shots twice in 13 seasons, Durant has found an incredible balance to his scoring as he truly does score on from all three levels beyond the 3-point line (18.7% of his points), in the mid-range (26.2% of his points) and in the paint (33.9% of his points) and he gets to the free throw line (21.3% of his points). Thanks for signing up. His three NBA MVP awards and three NBA Championships is proof of that. 52.6 FG%2. He would go on to spend seven of his 13 years in the NBA with the Bullets. This Canadian phenom is a two time NBA MVP. There isn't any player in the league that even comes close to touching Durant's mid-range success. With at least 30 assists in 24 games, the Nets have set a new single-season franchise record. He fought through back pains and continued to play despite the pain. Dirk is the first member of the 50-40-90 club on this list. He has the 11th-highest career scoring average among active players (22.8). With his second 3 on Tuesday, the Warriors' star guard eclipses the all-time record after tying it in the opening minutes. At one point during the 1996 NBA season, Terrell hit 67 straight free throws in a single month. Durant has had 20 percent or higher in the percentage of points from the mid-range in 10 of his 14 seasons. But at the same time, the mid-range game is not going to go away any time soon thanks to the style of play from several stars around the league. At his current pace of 3.1 3-pointers per game, Harris would make 25 more 3-pointers this season, which would give him 815 as a Net and put him atop the franchise list. Career FT%: 87.3% (1,784 FTM / 2,043 FTA). Kevin Durant & Chris Paul Have Strong Words About Russell Westbrook All data is extracted since 2018-19 and pulled from PBP Stats unless noted otherwise. Kevin Durant is shooting 71% on mid range jumpers so far (16-23ft NAME SEASON TM GP W% MIN PTS REB AST STL BLK TOV FGM FGA FG% 3PM 3PA 3P% FTM FTA FT% PF +/-MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG TPG; Kevin Durant: 2007-08: SEA. The NBA has evolved over the last decade to rely heavily on the three-point line. Small Forward, Power Forward, and Shooting Guard He was one of the most well rounded and complete players during his time. That same season Ricky got into the record books by recording the second longest consecutive free throw shooting streak at 75 made. Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, While with the Portland Trailblazers, he would earn the honor of having the highest career free throw percentage for the franchise at 88.1%. It has yet to be seen when his skills will begin to diminish, but until then Nowitzki is still going strong. Career FT%: 90.3% (2,577 FTM / 2,853 FTA). When Stephen Curry broke Ray Allens 3-point record last week, the discussion was not just centered around Currys individual greatness as a shooter, but how he changed the game and ushered in the 3-point revolution in the NBA. Harden is seventh in free throws made per game (6.5) and sixth in free throws attempted per game (7.5) while shooting 87.0 percent. Booker is second in the playoffs at 43.2 minutes per game. Great gem @jj_redick pic.twitter.com/RR2oO8DbmR, andrew leezus (@AndrewLeezus) February 13, 2023. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Similar to DeRozan, the mid-range game has been a staple for Aldridge for years and for years he resisted trying to become the latest big man to move his game beyond the arc. We present them here for purely educational purposes. Last week I published an article outlining the worst free throw shooters in NBA history. He previously led the NBA in 3-point field goal percentage during the 2018-19 season (47.4). That means that DeRozan may get a ton of open looks from the mid-range, and if we know him, hes going to take them. Sometimes, it's as simple as shooting over them. That theory has left the mid-range the area inside the 3-point line but outside the key as the dead zone on the floor, the least efficient shot in the game, the lava in the basketball version of Floor is Lava. Durants 62.2 % field goal percentage on two-pointers this season is his career-best, and with the way his body is, hes able to make those types of shots look like layups. Hersey never shot under 83% from the line over the course of his career. . Their seventh man, Bismack Biyombo, was almost out of the league a year ago. Like many players, Jeff had a unique routine before shooting free throws. Active players are listed in bold the worst free throw shooters in NBA history. International Stats at Basketball-Reference.com, College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com, Scores from any date in BAA/NBA or ABA history, Frequently Asked Questions about the NBA, WNBA and Basketball, Basketball-Reference.com Blog and Articles, Subscribe to Stathead Basketball: Get your first month FREE. Kevin Durant is capable of playing big minutes and still producing . Kevin Wayne Durant Twitter : KDTrey5 Instagram: easymoneysniper (Durantula, KD, Slim Reaper, Easy Money Sniper, The Servant, Green Room) Position: Small Forward, Power Forward, and Shooting Guard Shoots: Right 6-10 , 240lb (208cm, 108kg) More bio, uniform, draft, salary info 13x All Star 4x Scoring Champ 2x NBA Champ 10x All-NBA Career FT%: 89.2% (3,445 FTM / 3,864 FTA). This guard was drafted to Washington in1983 when they still were named the now ironic Washington Bullets. He is one 3-pointer behind Allen Crabbe (201, 2017-18). Ricky Barry will always be remembered for his free throws. KDTrey5 That's the best chance that the Suns have to win it all. the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. DeMar DeRozan has ranked in the top five in mid-range field goals made in eight of the past 10 seasons. 1988 Kevin Durant is third in the NBA in shooting a career-high 47.2 percent from 3-point range. His inclusion in the 50-40-90 club frequently mentioned on this list is proof of that. The fantastic two-man game Jokic has shared with Jamal Murray, who will miss most if not all of next season due to the guards injury, has predictably propelled the Nuggets to great heights over the past few seasons. The most memorable moment of his career thus far was leading the Detroit Pistons in a huge upset victory over the L.A. Lakers in the 2004 NBA Finals; he would go on to win NBA Finals MVP that year. His numbers helped him earn entry into the All NBA second team . During that span he led the league in free throw shooting percentage on seven different occasions. The Nets are one of three teams with a pair of teammates ranked in the top 10 along with Phoenixs Chris Paul (and his deadly elbow jumpers) and Devin Booker, and Philadelphias Joel Embiid and Seth Curry. The Nets are fifth in free throws made per game (18.3), sixth in free throw percentage (80.9), and eighth in free throws attempted per game (22.6). Clips. During the offseason in 2019, while he was rehabbing from his torn Achilles, Durant took to Twitter to join the discourse about mid-range jumpers. The exponential growth of the 3-point shot at all levels of the game NBA, college, high school, AAU has had a significant side effect: the devaluation and essential disappearance of the mid-range game. Charles Barkley* .6120: 16. During his tenure in the NBA he made a name for himself at the charity stripe. Kiki took over for Lawrence Frank as coach of the New Jersey Nets during the 2009-10 season. They're minus-17.2 points per 100 possessions in those Durant-free minutes. Larry Brown never got confused about whos who on the 2004 Detroit Pistons roster. The league-average percentage from beyond the arc is 35.8 percent, according to Basketball-Reference.com, and that helps out Durant. NBA.com is part of Warner Media, LLCs Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network, *Translations are limited to select pages, Trae, Luka headline 12 dominant pull-up shooters, 12 players thriving as catch-and-shoot scorers, Curry officially claims NBA's 3-point crown, Will LeBron pass Kareem? In one his books, Larry Bird opened up how frustrating it was as a coach to see his former team Indiana Pacers get dominated by Michael Jordan., Rudy Tomjanovich sounds off on his former team and the rumors surrounding them. This was the same season he had the lowest usage percentage in his career. That same pick was used by the Pistons to acquire Ricky Piercethe player preceding him on this list. DeMar DeRozan, Kevin Durant lead top 10 mid-range scorers | NBA.com A closer look at the top 10 mid-range scorers in the league this season. An 11-time All-Star, four-time scoring champion, two-time champion, two-time Finals MVP and one-time MVP, Durant has, of course, been lighting up opponents from midrange for over a decade at this point. With the conference semifinals set, let's take a look at the best player in each of the 8 first-round series. Bill is the first player in the NBA to hit 50 consecutive free throws. He continues to get to the line on a consistent basis and makes opposing teams pay dearly for sending him there. Harris also holds the fourth (183, 2018-19) and fifth (172, 2019-20) places on that list. Shot charts are via Positive Residual. Active players are listed in bold * Indicates member of the Hall of Fame. There were just two players the entire season to shoot over 50 percent on three or more mid-range attempts per game CJ McCollum at 50.2 percent on 4.7 attempts and Kevin Durant at a. For the last three seasons, its been KD. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. His defenders are assuredly still having nightmares about the hot streak and as the Suns look to defend their roles as conference champions, look for Paul to continue giving Phoenix an advantage every time he steps on the floor. Despite his size, Brandon was regarded as a top flight point guard in the mid-90's. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. Bryan Kalbrosky is a national NBA staff writer at USA TODAY's For The Win. His free throw shooting remained steady throughout his career never fluctuating too high or low from his career average. Hes already shown off his signature shot which was the reason for this article, and was said to look ready. He was joined on the Rockets by a player much higher on this list. Not even centers like Myles Turnerstand much of a chance of disrupting his shot. Can you guess the player?, This is an ABSOLUTELY INSANE stat about Kevin Durant. The Finals Stat: Game 3 Kevin Durant leads the Warriors from outside | Sporting News. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. Irving is also fifth in free throw percentage (92.4). Totals. Will the mid-range shot decline further, or will these players have proven that the mid-range shot still has value and inspire younger players to embrace the lava as well? All rights reserved. * Indicates member of the Hall of Fame. Joel Embiid, one of the best players from the mid-range this season, has shot eight percent less than Durant on 1.2 fewer attempts. Chris Paul midrange is absolutely Insane , Myles Turner (@Original_Turner) June 14, 2021. During the 1980-81 season, Murphy managed to set recordsat the timefor both longest streak of consecutive free throws made and highest free throw percentage in a single season; records that have since been broken. Bird only trails one other player on this list with three seasons in that exclusive club. The mid-range game has steadily declined since all-time greats like Michael Jordan left the league. You can look at a shot chart fromKevin Durantfor half a second and see that he is absolutely brilliant from everywhere on the floor. As the years went on and he got better and his free throw percentage would steadily climb and eventually peak at 91.9% during his 2002-03 season. MORE:How KD is helping Devin Booker reach a new level of superstardom. August 26, 2021 Durant is averaging just .9 fewer makes per game on 2.7 fewer attempts per game. Durant has averaged eight PPG from the mid-range this season, accounting for nearly one-third of his total scoring numbers.
kevin durant career mid range percentage