By Stephen Shea, Ph.D. (@SteveShea33)
January 17, 2019
Analytics have had no more obvious influence on the game of basketball than on shot selection, and the influence extends beyond the suggestion to take more threes. The best shots are from behind the arc, at the hoop and at the free-throw line.
As a result, NBA teams are taking half as many mid-range jumpers as they did 20 years ago. And there’s no sign of that trend slowing down.
If teams are strategizing to take more shots at the hoop, from three and from the free-throw line, then it’s only natural that they should want the players that are the most efficient from those regions.
We introduce the 40/60/80 Club, an exclusive group of go-to NBA scorers that shoot better than 40% from three, 60% from the restricted area and 80% from the free-throw line.
To be sure we’re not dealing with fluke performances on small samples, we require that players took at least 100 shots in each of the three regions. To ensure we’re dealing with go-to scorers that draw the focus of opponent defenses, we require that players average at least 15 points per game.
Here’s the 40/60/80 Club for last season.
We’ve highlighted Tobias Harris, because he may be the member of the club fans least expected. But, his performance is no fluke. Here’s this season’s club.
