In basketball, effective field goal percentage (abbreviated eFG%) is a statistic that adjusts field goal percentage to account for the fact that three-point field goals count for three points, while all other field goals only count for two points. Its goal is to show what field goal percentage a two-point shooter would have to shoot at to match the output of a player who also shoots three-pointers.
It is calculated by:
where: FG = field goals (both 2-point and 3-point) made 3P = 3-point field goals made FGA = field goal attempts
An alternate form of the formula is:
where:
2FG = 2-point field goals made 3FG = 3-point field goals made FGA = field goal attempts
A common criticism of this formula is that shooters with very high percentage success rates, which favor 3 point shots, would arrive at an eFG% above 100%.
It can also be calculated by:
where: PPG = points per game FT = free throws made FGA = field goal attempts
The advantage of this second formula is that it highlights the aforementioned logic behind the statistic, where it is pretended that a player only shot two-point shots (hence the division of non-free-throw points by 2).
Leaders In the National Basketball Association (NBA), the statistic is available for seasons since the 1946–47 season. The highest career effective field goal percentage is .6736, by DeAndre Jordan. The highest effective field goal percentage for one season is .7419, by Mitchell Robinson which he achieved during the season. Wilt Chamberlain has led the league in effective field goal percentage a record nine times. Shaquille O'Neal led the league six times. DeAndre Jordan led the league five times. Artis Gilmore and Rudy Gobert each led the league four times. Neil Johnston led the league three times. Charles Barkley, Brent Barry, , Alex Groza, Cedric Maxwell, Ken Sears and Buck Williams each lead the league two times. Wilt Chamberlain, and DeAndre Jordan each hold the record for consecutive seasons leading the league in effective field goal percentage (5x). Other players to lead the league in field goal percentage include Artis Gilmore (4x), Rudy Gobert (3x), Charles Barkley, Neil Johnston, , Alex Groza, Cedric Maxwell, Ken Sears and Buck Williams each did it (2x).
Year-by-year ^Denotes player who is still active in the NBA *Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Season Player Position Effective field goal percentage Team Forward / guard .4009 Washington Capitols * Guard .3488 Baltimore Bullets * Center .4228 Rochester Royals Center .4780 Indianapolis Olympians (2) Center .4704 Indianapolis Olympians * Small forward .4485 Philadelphia Warriors * Center .4524 Philadelphia Warriors * Center / power forward .4863 Boston Celtics Power forward / center .4865 Fort Wayne Pistons * (2) Center .4570 Philadelphia Warriors * (3) Center .4471 Philadelphia Warriors * Small forward .4523 Cincinnati Royals Power forward / small forward .4900 New York Knicks (2) Power forward / small forward .4774 New York Knicks* Center .5092 Philadelphia Warriors* Center .5189 Chicago Packers* (2) Center .5282 San Francisco Warriors* Power forward .5266 Cincinnati Royals* (3) Center .5103 San Francisco WarriorsPhiladelphia 76ers* (4) Center .5397 Philadelphia 76ers* (5) Center .6826 Philadelphia 76ers* (6) Center .5948 Philadelphia 76ers* (7) Center .5833 Los Angeles Lakers Power forward .5593 Cincinnati Royals (2) Power forward .5871 Cincinnati Royals* (8) Center .6492 Los Angeles Lakers* (9) Center .7270 Los Angeles Lakers* Center .5471 Buffalo Braves Small forward .5389 Boston Celtics* Center .5608 Washington Bullets* Center .5793 Los Angeles Lakers* Power forward .5782 Denver Nuggets Small forward .5842 Boston Celtics (2) Small forward .6093 Boston Celtics* Center .6703 Chicago Bulls* (2) Center .6529 Chicago Bulls* (3) Center .6261 San Antonio Spurs* (4) Center .6313 San Antonio Spurs Center .6370 Los Angeles Clippers Power forward / center .6318 San Antonio Spurs* Power forward / small forward .6057 Philadelphia 76ers* (2) Power forward / small forward .6040 Philadelphia 76ers* Power forward / small forward .6008 Detroit Pistons Center .6245 Phoenix Suns Power forward .6017Portland Trail Blazers (2) Power forward .6039 Portland Trail Blazers Point guard .5847 Houston Rockets* Center .5990 Orlando Magic Power forward / center .6328 Golden State Warriors* Point guard .5960 Utah Jazz* Small forward / shooting guard .6054 Golden State Warriors Small forward / shooting guard .5879 Seattle SuperSonics* (2) Center .5763 Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard .5785 Seattle SuperSonics* (3) Center .5717 Los Angeles Lakers (2) shooting guard .6114 Seattle SuperSonics Center .5846 Chicago Bulls* (4) Center .5844 Los Angeles Lakers Point guard / shooting guard .6109 Miami Heat* (5) Center .6000 Miami Heat* Point guard .6128 Phoenix Suns Center .6261 Golden State Warriors* (6) Center .6088 Phoenix Suns* Center .6115 Orlando MagicNenê Center / power forward .6154 Denver Nuggets Center .6789 New York Knicks^ Center .6434 Los Angeles Clippers^ (2) Center .6757 Los Angeles Clippers^ (3) Center .7107 Los Angeles Clippers^ (4) Center .7028 Los Angeles Clippers^ (5) Center .7140 Los Angeles Clippers^ Center .6524 Houston Rockets^ Center .6685 Utah Jazz^ Center .7419 New York Knicks^ (2) Center .6753 Utah Jazz^ (3) Center .7126Utah Jazz^ Center .7053 Brooklyn Nets^ Center .7250 Washington WizardsDallas Mavericks^ Center .7063 Cleveland Cavaliers^ (4) Center .6823 Minnesota Timberwolves
Multiple-time leaders RankPlayerTeamTimes leaderYears1Wilt ChamberlainPhiladelphia Warriors/San Francisco Warriors (3) / Philadelphia 76ers (3) / Los Angeles Lakers (3)9, , , , , , , , 2Shaquille O'NealOrlando Magic (1) / Los Angeles Lakers (3) / Miami Heat (1) / Phoenix Suns (1)6 , , , , , 3DeAndre JordanLos Angeles Clippers5 , , , , 4Artis GilmoreChicago Bulls (2) / San Antonio Spurs (2)4 , , , Rudy GobertUtah Jazz (3) / Minnesota Timberwolves (1), , , 6Neil JohnstonPhiladelphia Warriors3 , , 7Philadelphia 76ers 2, Seattle SuperSonics, Cincinnati Royals, Alex GrozaIndianapolis Olympians, Cedric MaxwellBoston Celtics, Ken SearsNew York Knicks, Buck WilliamsPortland Trail Blazers,
See also NBA records Basketball statistics Advanced statistics in basketball
References