Jonas Valaninas.6155: 14. A closer look at the top 10 mid-range. Its easy to quantify success when a 7-footer is constantly recording triple-doubles, which is exactly what he does. He joined Terrell Brandonanother sharpshooter from the lineon the Timberwolves from 2000 to 2002. He gets the honor of being considered the greatest free throw shooter in the history in the NBA. "Mike was simply a much-loved son, brother, grandson, and uncle who loved his dogs. Chris Mullin was drafted by the Golden State Warriors in 1985. With at least 30 assists in 24 games, the Nets have set a new single-season franchise record. Durant capitalized on Denver's smaller wings, canning his signature midrange jumpers while finishing a perfect 4 for 4 at the rim. Spin: Durant capitalized on Denver's smaller wings, canning his signature midrange jumpers while finishing a perfect 4 for 4 at the rim. The league-average percentage from beyond the arc is 35.8 percent, according to Basketball-Reference.com, and that helps out Durant. Taking away his seven PPG from free throws, mid-range jumpers account for 35 percent of Durant's scoring. Last season, he made the 19th most field goals from midrangedespite playing in only 35 games, doing so at a50.6 percent clip. Aside from the rather unsanitary practice of licking his finger tips before shooting, he could always be counted on to make his free throws. Copyright 2023 Sporting News Holdings Limited. 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. Injuries hindered his career and forced him to miss significant time during his final years as a player. What that means is if the opponent decides to double-team Jokic, however, he also has the playmaking chops to find an open teammate for an easy dime. Kevin Durant rookie season stats Which team had the best regular season record in a season? From the 15-19 foot range, DeMar DeRozan, Klay Thompson, and Lamarcus Aldridge have all taken 240 or more mid range jumpers. Is Kevin Durant or Carmelo Anthony the Better Pure Scorer? Hornacek's highest consecutive free thows made totals at 67, which happened during his final season in the league. NBA & ABA Career Leaders and Records for True Shooting Pct Millerlike many others on this listis one of the best shooters the league has ever seen. 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. . He has the 11th-highest career scoring average among active players (22.8). Why, he wondered, would you pass up on the easy look for something contested? Playing a ton of minutes in the playoffs is nothing new for Durant. 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. His most memorable streak clocked in at 43 consecutive free throws made. He would stroke the side of his face three times in acknowledgement of his children. * Indicates member of the Hall of Fame. Copyright 2020 www.TheComeback.com - All Rights Reserved - Trademarks used herein are property of their respective owners. Now that hes in Phoenix, the game plan wont change. Durant's usage percentage is at 23.8 percent, way down from his career playoff average of 30.8 percent. Shooting However, he has played the game long enough to know when it feels like his shot is sinking particularly well on any given night. Durant has grabbed 6.5 rebounds per game in his past 10, which is 0.2 less than his average for the season. One of the most well rounded players the NBA has ever seen, he ranks fifth all-time in triple doubles recorded. The three-time All-Star followed that up with 45 points on a cool 62.1 . This team has championship aspirations, and those role players simply haven't been good enough to give the starters long stretches of rest. That lack of wear and tear could theoretically allow him to go harder in the playoffs. After spending the first chunk of his career on the Toronto Raptors, DeRozan was the centerpiece of a deal that sent him to the Western Conference to play for the San Antonio Spurs. While still impressive, his free throw percentage would continue to decline after his first year being traded to the Utah Jazz. 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). In Durant's 14-year career, the lowest percentage of points from the mid-range was 15.8 percent in the 2016-17 NBA season. Thanks for signing up. August 26, 2021- Besides being one of the most promising young talents the NBA has seen in years, Durant is primed to challenge every single player on this list for dominance. CEO and founder Marc Pollick is at the center of internal strife in the celebrity charity organization that partnered with Hamlin. Durant is playing with a lot of talent in Phoenix, and the offensive burden that he has to carry is lower than at some of the other stops in his career. While teams know what to take away with DeRozan, there is no spot on the floor to try to force Durant to score he can simply do it from everywhere. pic.twitter.com/7gtvVnVxJR, Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) April 4, 2021. We present them here for purely educational purposes. The Nets are second in the NBA in isolation possessions per game (11.1), isolation points per game (11.8), and points per isolation possession (1.04). Once the playoffs arrived, however, the tune changed and Durant averaged a league-best 5.3 pull-up two-pointers nearly one more per game than any other player in the postseason. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. www.TheComeback.com is a sports fan website and is in no way affiliated with any professional sports team, league, or its Properties. Heres what happens when hes doing the Sombor Shuffle: After facing up his opponent on the block, the big man fakes a drive with his left foot then swiftly takes a one-dribble fadeaway jumper off his right foot. Joe Harris leads the NBA in 3-point percentage, shooting 48.3 percent for the season. Growing up in Los Angeles, DeRozan didnt have access to cable television. Allen is closing in on the remaining players on this list with his steadily increasing free throw percentage. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. Harris ranks sixth in effective field goal percentage (66.5). 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. Price will also go down as the one Cavalier to leave Cleveland and make his way down to Florida without being hated. Montrose Christian School in Rockville, Maryland, Draft: Clips. According to NBA.com, he has made wait for it . Just barely reaching the criteria for this list is Terrell Brandon. 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. It was a vintage performance of Durant-on-Twitter and he uttered an unforgettable one-liner about the role of graphs in sports. During his tenure in the NBA he made a name for himself at the charity stripe. Kevin Durant has solidified his name as one of the greatest mid-range shooters of all-time showcasing, even now in the 3-point era, how the mid-range shot can be extremely useful Im a firm believer in, why not work on what teams are giving up? Every team wants to give up the mid-range shot, the mid-range 2s, and why not continue to work on the shots that teams are giving up When you see, even in late-game situations in the fourth quarter, the mid-range shots are what wins the games. Or he could fake the dribble handoff and instead keep the ball to create opportunities for himself from the mid-range. Last year, he led all players at 44.0 minutes per game. To determine which players are fighting the hardest to keep the mid-range game alive in the NBA, we looked at three factors and then compared how each individual performed relative to the league average in the same span (dating back to 2018-19): It is worth mentioning that longtime NBA fixtures who recently stepped away from the game (e.g. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. He has published with HoopsHype, FOX Sports, Bleacher Report, and various other publications. He only missed seven totals games during his first 10 years in the league and managed to play 527 straight games before succumbing to his first injury. All rights reserved. In Chicagos win over Los Angeles on Sunday, DeRozan finished with 38 points, with half of them coming in the fourth quarter one layup, one driving runner in the lane, five free throws and five mid-range jumpers. It's not ideal, but Williams has figured out a way to lessen the strain on Durant a bit. It's long been his weapon of choice, even predating his time in the NBA. home/away, monthly, etc More Kevin Durant Basketball Reference pages, 2022-23 Suns the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. Kevin Durant And The Art of The Mid-Range - Medium He joins former teammate Dirk Nowitzki on this elite list along with several members of the 50-40-90 club. Dirk Nowitzki 13-14 50.43. Calvin Murphy spent 13 successful seasons in the NBA with the Rockets; good enough to get him into the Basketball Hall of Fame. ESPN Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved. Kevin Durant 18-19 . I wish I could've played all 48.". His success rate on those looks? Career FT%: 89.2% (3,972 FTM / 4,455 FTA). At age 34, Durant is averaging 30.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 5.5 assists on a per 75 possession basis (the best way to adjust for minutes and pace across the board). Through 26 games this season, Durant has been lethal from the mid-range. Playing alongside Stockton and Malone, he had a key role on the team and contributed largely to their run to the NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998. While Durant has long been a midrange assassin, he's kicked his efficiency from that distance to a terrifying level to start the 2021-22 season. Kevin Durant is right: Anthony Davis is the next Kevin Durant He would go on to peak at a 95% rate for free throws made that year; the only time he exceeded 90% for his career. National Christian Academy in Fort Washington, Maryland, There are good midrange shooters, there are elite midrange shooters and then there's Kevin Durant. Their eighth man, Landry Shamet, has been targeted defensively and is shooting 21.4 percent from the field. Who was the MVP in each first-round series? us, High Schools: Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, To determine value added from downtown, you perform two. Kevin Durant is capable of playing big minutes and still producing . DeMar DeRozan (29) is the closest to him, followed by Paul George (28),Trae Young (26) and Dejounte Murray (26). The kicker is not a single one of them has made nearly as manyfrom that distance as Durant. Kevin Durant 17-18 . Despite his agejust recently turned 35Allen still logs heavy minutes and hasn't missed many games since joining the Celtics; Ray also shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. The Comeback: Todays Top Sports Stories & Reactions. ", "Kirk doesn't need to show anything to me.". shooting 51.8 percent from the field and 45.8 percent from 3-point range. With his comfort pulling up, playing drop coverage against Durant is usually a losing game. Harris is second in franchise history in 3-pointers made (790) behind Jason Kidd (813). Kevin Durant's minutes have garnered increased scrutiny and for good reason. Stats Notebook: Kevin Durant on pace for his best offensive year ever Durant's 62.2 % field goal percentage on two-pointers this season is his career-best, and with the way his body is, he's able to make those types of shots look like layups. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. She previously worked for MLB.com and NBC Sports Bay Area. Rather unfair since he was a solid player throughout most of his career in the NBA. NBA.com is part of Warner Media, LLCs Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network. Career FT%: 88.3% (3,143 FTM / 3,559 FTA). His free throw shooting remained steady throughout his career never fluctuating too high or low from his career average. In todays game, most defenses try to force opponents to shoot from the mid-range they dont want to give up 3-pointers and shots at the rim.