this post was submitted on 19 Nov 2023
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Who are the most efficient mid range shooters of the last 25 years? (alien.top)
submitted 11 months ago by xxStayFly81xx@alien.top to c/nba@nba.space
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So, I was curious about who some of the most efficient mid range shooters. I previously did this a few years ago (back in 2020) but limited it to high volume scorers and thought that'd be a disservice to those still had enough volume but weren't known as scorers. So the new list is players with 2x+ All Star appearances and over 1500 FGA in that range. I'll post the Top 20 but also add some notable mentions namely those players who everyone thinks of also when they hear mid range or just other higher volume scorers.

Rk Player G FG FGA FG%
1 Nikola Jokić 507 751 1543 48.7%
2 John Stockton 506 901 1857 48.5%
3 Chris Paul 1217 3376 7035 48.0%
4 Steve Nash 1140 2413 5051 47.8%
5 Dirk Nowitzki 1511 6236 13225 47.2%
6 Glenn Robinson 525 2487 5314 46.8%
7 Kyrie Irving 668 1694 3631 46.7%
8 Stephen Curry 842 1678 3606 46.5%
9 Khris Middleton 673 1562 3362 46.5%
10 Allan Houston 602 2330 5022 46.4%
11 Kevin Durant 997 3522 7607 46.3%
12 Trae Young 353 725 1584 45.8%
13 Kawhi Leonard 594 1443 3156 45.7%
14 Al Horford 912 1644 3612 45.5%
15 David West 964 2496 5507 45.3%
16 Devin Booker 527 1532 3387 45.2%
17 Kevin Garnett 1378 5011 11082 45.2%
18 Michael Jordan 306 1951 4346 44.9%
19 Donovan Mitchell 405 730 1629 44.8%
20 Joel Embiid 404 1067 2412 44.2%
HM Damian Lillard 743 1194 2728 43.8%
HM Reggie Miller 654 1413 3231 43.7%
HM Klay Thompson 723 1668 3819 43.7%
HM DeMar DeRozan 1034 3661 8676 42.2%
HM Paul Pierce 1287 2870 6932 41.4%
HM Carmelo Anthony 1253 3890 9400 41.4%
HM Kobe Bryant 1324 4790 11605 41.3%
HM Tracy McGrady 896 2810 6910 40.7%
HM James Harden 788 893 2202 40.6%
HM Gilbert Arenas 528 1184 2930 40.4%
HM Paul George 773 1520 3784 40.2%
HM Anthony Davis 667 1611 4049 39.8%
HM Allen Iverson 913 3288 8409 39.1%
HM Jayson Tatum 429 639 1633 39.1%
HM Russell Westbrook 1077 2502 6457 38.7%
HM Dwyane Wade 1047 2665 6916 38.5%
HM LeBron James 1398 3057 8047 38.0%
HM Jason Kidd 1094 1776 4715 37.7%
HM Giannis Antetokounmpo 629 761 2087 36.5%
HM Manu Ginóbili 811 661 1818 36.4%
HM Blake Griffin 621 1072 2977 36.0%

Extra Notes

  • Something I didn't add was how often these mid range shooters were assisted aka how many created their own looks vs being created for. Among the top 20, it was around 46% assisted rate. The lowest % was Chris Paul at 10%. The highest was Al Horford at 79.6%. Chris Paul is actually the least assisted out of all eligible players while having the 12th most attempts.
top 20 comments
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[–] AnkitPancakes@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Would be interested to see where Shai falls on this list

[–] TheMinnesotaWarrior@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

The fact that Kevin Garnett is only a few percentage away from everyone ahead of him despite basically doubling up all of their FGAs, with exceptions to KD & Dirk, is insane. He mastered that top of the key 20 footer & that baseline fade.

[–] CangtheKonqueror@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

demar not being top 20 and kd not being top 10 is crazy

[–] jessandjaysaccount@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Mj shouldn't be so low. Do the stats include his whole career or just the late part?

[–] CoachDT@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

The volume discrepancy in this list is insane.

[–] Mr_Unbiased@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Dirk is the most impressive. That volume is ridiculous.

Side note: Forgot how efficient KG was from Midrange

[–] Arooooooooooooooo@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

KG’s shooting is beyond underrated. He was a monster from midrange and long 2s.

[–] CofTheEast@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Ik this is just efficiency but I think volume should still play a part. Like Dirk has taken 12,000 more midranges is only shooting and 1% less than the Jokic.

[–] Linsanigoat@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

What is considered a mid-range? Giannis being on there kinda blows my mind. Guy can’t shoot that well outside the restricted area

[–] JAhoops@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Jokic is the best player ever

[–] Scizzurp@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

It's Dirk and then KD/CP3. Dirk has the volume and %.

Joker is good but most of his career came in the spacing era, so his efficient is not as crazy.

[–] Puzzleheaded_Fox4684@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

If you remove Chris Paul's last 2 years he might be number 1

[–] True-Reference3476@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Surprised Brad Miller didn’t make the cut. Nice stroke for a big man, 80% FT shooter, 2x all star… grew up playing guard before late growth spurt in high school. Always remember him having a great short-mid range shot 🤷‍♂️

[–] TheyCallMeTheWizard@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

The fact that you required 2x all star appearances ruins the whole value of this list.

So you’re going to ignore SGA on here who would be near the top of it weren’t for that?

Cherry picked doesn’t help things

[–] TheRealCatLeg@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

I can’t believe Rip Hamilton isn’t higher. Seemed like every time I watched him play it was a guaranteed bucket anytime he shot from mid-range.

[–] fut20trades@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Shaun Livingston?

[–] vyampols12@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

What this list really reinforces for me is that midrange is still a bad shot for even the best shooter. A 33% 3pt shot is more efficient than the most efficient midrange players.

[–] DragoniteGang@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Not necessarily since a midrange shot will draw more free throws instead of a three. So shooting 48% from middy while drawing more free throws like and 1s is equivalent to around 1.03 pts per possession.

[–] Overall-Palpitation6@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Jalen Brunson probably hasn't been a volume scorer for long enough to be included? Otherwise he would be among the top 10 I'd imagine.

[–] Peasant-22@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

This is exactly why when people say “Curry is the greatest shooter of all time” they are wrong. Greatest 3PT of all time, not greatest shooter from every spot on the floor.

Guys like Dirk smoke him in midrange shooting.