Jump Shooting Trends (2000–18)

The rise of analytics has led to a three-point revolution, with virtually every team now looking to strengthen its roster with capable three-point shooters. According to Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, the “first thing you look at” after a game is the differential in the number of made threes. In the chart below, the growing emphasis on three-point shooting can be seen.

Not only has the proportion of three-point shots taken increased, the proportion of two-point jumpers has decreased as well by almost 18% from the 2000–01 to the 2017–18 season. One possible reason for this drop in the rate of two-point attempts is that the analytics have shown the mid-range jumper to be one of the least efficient shots.

The next two charts display career jump shooting numbers for volume and efficiency of notable guards and wing players.

Six out of the 11 players featured above started their NBA careers in 2005 or later. Not much difference can be seen between the newer and older players in terms of volume. However, with respect to efficiency, all four of the players shooting better than 40% on jump shots for their careers are relatively new to the NBA, with perhaps the exception of Chris Paul. The graph below shows how jump shooting efficiency has changed over the years from a league-wide perspective.

The data can be used to see how players have fared over their careers. The table below shows the top 25 players in made jump shots per game (using players’ five best seasons, where applicable).

Next is the top 25 players in effective field-goal percentage based on players’ five best seasons (minimum 1,000 shots made).

These lists are not comprehensive as information from only the 2000–01 season onwards was used. Based on the past 18 years, it could be argued that Stephen Curry has been the best jump shooter of this century, considering he ranks in the top five of both made field-goals per game, and effective field-goal percentage.

Data obtained from basketball-reference.com