Friday, July 9th, 2010 at 1:06 pm  |  66 responses

Top 25 Mid-Range Shooters

Who has the best knack for knocking down tough buckets?

10. Chris Bosh | Miami Heat | 1.9 makes/game | 64.7% assisted
Bosh will bring his polished mid-range game to Miami, where he can knock down open 20-footers, take a dribble left or right to realign himself for a better look, and play pick-and-pop with Dwyane Wade for a few years. If this happens, expect Bosh to be free after screening for Wade consistently, where he will get plenty of easy looks and continue to prove that he is an excellent mid-range player, and should only improve on his 43 percent and 1.9 makes per game for years to come with that great southpaw jumper of his.

9. Brandon Roy | Portland Trail Blazers | 2.2 makes/game | 35.4% assisted
You might not know that Brandon Roy takes most of his shots in the mid-range area, where he attempts 5 per game and knocks in just over 2 to shoot at a 43 percent clip. A suave combo guard who can pull up and knock down a jumper from anywhere inside the arc, Roy is a tough cover in this region because he is also so tough to prevent from getting to the basket. It is the ability to keep his defender off balance, the awareness of knowing what a good shot is and the confidence to pull the trigger that makes him one of the game’s best in the mid-range.

8. Steve Nash | Phoenix Suns | 1.8 makes/game | 8.8% assisted
Like Chris Paul, the component that makes Nash so imprDerrick Roseessive in this category is his ability to create his own shot. The two-time MVP creates 92 percent of his 1.8 makes per game in this department while also shooting 46 percent. In the mid-range Nash is great pulling up after the pick-and-roll while also having the ability to hit tough running, off-balance fall-aways from all angles. Nash is one of the best shooters of his generation (and ever) and it shows.

7. Derrick Rose | Chicago Bulls | 3.0 makes/game | 34.0% assisted
It might come as a surprise to find out that Derrick Rose took the third most mid-range jumpers in the League, checking in at 6.9 per game. It also might come as a surprise to find out that he made the third most mid-range shots in the League as well, at a pace of 3 per contest. In just his second season in the NBA, Rose has proven that he will take and knock the mid-range shot at a high rate—now he just needs to pick his spots a little bit wiser to decrease those attempts and increase upon his 44 percent.

6. Chris Paul | New Orleans Hornets | 2.2 makes/game | 8.2% assisted
Everybody knows Chris Paul has an incredible floater and pull up jumper, but did you know he also shot 45 percent from the field while making 2.2 shots per game, which broke his previous career high from this area? Shooting 45 percent from this range, especially while creating nearly all of his attempts for himself, is good enough to place him

5. Kevin Garnett | Boston Celtics | 2.2 makes/game | 92.8% assisted
The astounding part about Kevin Garnett in the mid-range? How about the fact that he makes 2.2 shots in this area per game, shoots 46 percent and is assisted on nearly 93 percent of all these makes, making Garnett the X player on our list off the catch. As Garnett has gotten older, one thing is for sure—he can still hit his bread and butter catch-and-shoot in the mid-range.

4. Carmelo Anthony | Denver Nuggets | 2.9 makes/game | 36.0% assisted
When he catches the ball within 20 feet and turns to face the hoop Melo can be an absolute terror to guard. Sporting excellent jab series’, awareness with the ball, quick moves with the ball and the ability to rise up and shoot over defenders, Melo makes easy money in the mid-range game. He makes the third most shots in the League from this area at 2.9, just .1 behind Derrick Rose and Caron Butler and he makes 40 percent of the 7.1 attempts he takes per game. Melo has a natural feel for the mid-range game that could continue to progress if he figures out shot selection just a little bit more.

3. Caron Butler | Dallas Mavericks | 2.9 makes/game | 60.3% assisted
Known for his versatility and slashing abilities, it might surprise some people to see the Wizards Caron Butler near the top 3 of a mid-range rankings, but that is exactly where he stands on this list. Thanks to his ability to knock down open shots in the flow of the offense from the mid-range, Butler earned himself a top-3 ranking. The small forward knocked in 3 shots from this range per game at a clip of 43 percent while hitting 54 percent of them within the flow of the offense. When a team runs the offense through a player like this, it’s a sign that he has great abilities there.

2. Kobe Bryant | L.A. Lakers | 2.5 makes/game | 38.5% assisted
Simply put, Kobe has the best repertoire of anybody in the mid-range. The shots he makes—pull-ups, fadeaways, pivot spin moves, double clutch leaner’s—are all made with such regularity that as an audience, we just keep watching and expecting another ridiculous “Kobe shot.” So what is the main reason behind Kobe shooting 41 percent and hitting 2.5 midrange shots per game? It all starts with his pristine footwork, which he uses to create favorable position to get a good look at the basket. Kobe catches the ball and surveys the floor better than anybody in the game right now, which helps him to outthink his opponents when he makes his move to the spot that he wants to get to. Once he gets to the spot he wants the defender is helpless and you can throw 2 points on the board.

1. Dirk Nowitzki | Dallas Mavericks | 3.8 makes/game | 77.4% assisted
While he might not have the advanced dribble moves to beat players to the spot like guards do, the tall German relies on his size and smooth shooting stroke which allows him to post up and shoot over opponents with ease. He sports a ridiculous fadeaway that ends up in the bottom of the net before the post player even knows what happened. Dirk is also great in catch and shoot situations at any spot from 16-23 feet, where he makes 46 percent on 3.8/8 attempts per game, better than anybody in the game today. Along the same lines, 77 percent of the shots Nowitzki makes are off the pass, a clear design of the offense running through him in his most comfortable spots.

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  • SLAM ONLINE | » Hot Topics Posted: Jul.9 at 1:08 pm
    [...] Best Mid-Range Shooters [...]

  • Ryne Nelson Posted: Jul.9 at 1:10 pm
    Thanks, Jeremy. It’s tough ranking mid-range players. Glad you ranked Rose up there, though. King James needs to focus on improving in this area.

  • Nick Gibson Posted: Jul.9 at 1:24 pm
    I have a feeling Gordon Hayward makes it onto this list within a couple years. Has that high, Sam Young-like pump fake that gets him good looks. Very interesting article. Thanks Jeremy.

  • Kenny Posted: Jul.9 at 1:26 pm
    I would probably add Pau Gasol into the mix as well as Yao Ming. Two big guys who have a great mid-range shot.

  • JL Posted: Jul.9 at 1:27 pm
    shouldn’t you list the mid range shooting pct’s as well in the paragraph headers too?

  • shotty Posted: Jul.9 at 1:28 pm
    Caron Butler for the wizards? Really slam..

  • Ryne Nelson Posted: Jul.9 at 1:30 pm
    Yao and Hayward are great picks. Not so sure on Pau, though…

  • arjae Posted: Jul.9 at 1:41 pm
    No D-Wade? kinda surprising. seems to do a lot of work in that area. john salmons as well.

  • Jeremy Bauman Posted: Jul.9 at 1:42 pm
    Agree with yao and hayward, those guys will be money in this distance and shotty Caron Butler surprisingly had some of the best percentages out there, check it out.

  • Ryne Nelson Posted: Jul.9 at 1:43 pm
    Wade does a lot of work in that area, but he’s very inaccurate.

  • rainman10 Posted: Jul.9 at 1:44 pm
    Umm, to that dude that said Pau Gasol has a good mid-range shot…no.

  • rainman10 Posted: Jul.9 at 1:45 pm
    I don’t understand how LeBron is that high on the list.

  • Kap Posted: Jul.9 at 1:52 pm
    @ rainman…Umm Gasol has a pretty consistent mid range jumper. I don’t know wat lakers games you have seen.

  • wayno Posted: Jul.9 at 1:54 pm
    RIP should be higher, his whole game is midrange shooting and he is very good at getting open for his shots.

  • Aaron Posted: Jul.9 at 1:55 pm
    Exceptional list overall. I would have to include Darren Collison somewhere in the high middle. He’s a mid-sniper! But his game isn’t exactly in the public eye just yet so I understand why he’s not listed.

  • Jeremy Bauman Posted: Jul.9 at 2:00 pm
    Aaron great call. Darren Collison was on the border and could be on this list for years to come.

  • REMO Posted: Jul.9 at 2:18 pm
    Really no DWade?

  • Jukai Posted: Jul.9 at 2:45 pm
    WHOAAA A SLAM RANKING WITH A CLEAR CRITERIA??? YOU’RE AN IMPOSTOR!!!!!!!

  • AJBALLER Posted: Jul.9 at 3:17 pm
    1.dirk nowitzki
    2.kobe bryant
    3.richard hamilton
    4.kevin garnett
    5.chris bosh

  • Jer Boi Posted: Jul.9 at 3:25 pm
    Melo is the best mid range shooter in the nba. kobe and dirk are close. idk how butlers even there

  • Moose Posted: Jul.9 at 3:29 pm
    I was thinking PSquared should’ve gotten some recognition here. Dude lives off of the mid-range.

  • JL Posted: Jul.9 at 3:35 pm
    the difference tho between dirk and kobe and the rest of the mid range shooters is that they dont’ get very many open looks on their mid range shots. alot of the other guys get through screens and stuff but dirk and kobe have to do one on one and they still excel. well deserved 1 and 2. dirk’s mid range shots feel like layups to him i bet.

  • chingy Posted: Jul.9 at 3:54 pm
    Where is MELO?

  • tavoris Posted: Jul.9 at 3:55 pm
    Melo is up there Chingy…but David West isnt. That’s the most glaring omission I see.

  • Tarzan Cooper Posted: Jul.9 at 4:27 pm
    Why is rose and bron on there? Wheres paul and yao.

  • John Posted: Jul.9 at 4:28 pm
    Yeah, Pierce lives off that little step back jumper mid range for every damn game winner. And that’s how he gets to the line as well because he gets people to bite off that fake.

  • AJBALLER Posted: Jul.9 at 4:48 pm
    pau is a better mid range shooter then chris kamen and i dont know how he got there

  • The Promise Posted: Jul.9 at 4:55 pm
    Where is Paul Pierce???

  • kadavour Posted: Jul.9 at 6:40 pm
    Dirk
    Kobe
    Caron
    Daren Collison (DON’T SLEEP)
    Melo (Only cause he doesn’t hit from the left side with similar frequency as the top and right) Jameer Nelson should be somewhere HIGH on this list.

  • rainman10 Posted: Jul.9 at 7:07 pm
    Gasol makes less than a shot a game from this range…he shoots a pretty good percentage from the range but isn’t a consistent threat from there.

  • Boing Dynasty Posted: Jul.9 at 7:12 pm
    Sonny Weems.

  • kyler Posted: Jul.9 at 7:41 pm
    tony parker? melo?

  • guytoofly Posted: Jul.9 at 7:57 pm
    imo, b-roy should have been much higher, at least top 5

  • John Posted: Jul.9 at 8:44 pm
    how is deng higher than durant? its not like luol actually plays enough games, half the time he is injured. durant lead the league in scoring

  • josh guelda Posted: Jul.9 at 9:04 pm
    this was a great list and definitely took time but i just refuse to believe tht there r 16 better midrange shooters in the NBA better than RIP! i just thinks thts the most bizarre ranking on here. and yes darren collison could have been on here too but everything else i agreed with but RIP.. please hes gotta b top 5 and no lower

  • The Black Rick Kamla Posted: Jul.9 at 10:24 pm
    in all actuality, if Kobe were ever to get the kind of looks that most of these guys get, or if he had the height advantage Dirk has over the 4′s and 3′s (some times 2′s) he’d have a sky high percentage. Kobe is still the best mid range player in the league imo. Dirk follows closely behind because he hits shots that make you scratch your head. His feet look sloppy, his balance is off, but just like Kobe the release is just pristine and the rotation is perfect.

  • The Black Rick Kamla Posted: Jul.9 at 10:25 pm
    dude who said don’t sleep on Darren Collison knows his stuff. You let that boy shoot at your own will, he will knock them DOWN. He’s gonna be a special guard in this league very soon

  • dell harper Posted: Jul.9 at 11:09 pm
    where the hell is wade on this list? didn’t he win a chip with the off the glass midrange jimmy?!?

  • damien Posted: Jul.9 at 11:35 pm
    D Rose has a solid mid range game with the dribble drive pull up. That and is what separates him from Russell Westbrook, Rondo and John Wall. In my opinion its impossible to guard him up close due to his athleticism and he consistently hits the mid range. The three point shot is really the only flaw at this point and once he figures that out its a wrap

  • Hursty Posted: Jul.9 at 11:36 pm
    Kevin Martin & Yao!
    And for “lol jks” Ron Artest.

  • The Black Rick Kamla Posted: Jul.10 at 1:06 am
    Yao’s a good pick, as well as Brandon Bass in rhythm

  • Teddy-the-Bear Posted: Jul.10 at 2:20 am
    Co-sign Tarzan Cooper…

  • Teddy-the-Bear Posted: Jul.10 at 2:22 am
    That’s weird.. Kobe only makes 2.5 midrange jumpers a game? It seems like most of his field goals come from the midrange.

  • MVPballer Posted: Jul.10 at 5:57 am
    Looks like a lot of people don’t understand that this list is made up of numbers and statistics, not what a guy thinks about different players mid range games. There might be better mid range shooters than these listed, and RIP should probably have been higher. But, when you add up the numbers, Dirk is clearly the most effective from this area.

  • Hursty Posted: Jul.10 at 9:19 am
    Teddy – yeah, it’s mostly deep 2′s though.

  • Big E Posted: Jul.10 at 1:17 pm
    @tavoris-I agree on David West.

  • Hembergler Posted: Jul.10 at 6:56 pm
    Shocked that P^2 isn’t on this list

  • JTaylor21 Posted: Jul.10 at 8:22 pm
    The even dumber rick kamla, said if kobe was taller if kobe was that, so now we leave in a make believe world. Looks like you’ve been wiping kobes balls for too long. Kobe does not deserve to even be in the top ten let alone behind dirk. What happend to his fabled mid-range vs the celtics when he shot 40% from the field. Looks like something AI would put up and no one is calling him a great mid-range shooter.

  • The Black Rick Kamla Posted: Jul.10 at 8:52 pm
    i didn’t say if Kobe was taller, I’m just considering the advantages that Dirk has over Kobe as far as how he’s able to get his shots off, you can re-read my comment if you’d like to. I’m just take everything into consideration, Kobe’s usually guarded by guys either his height or taller, and he’s primarily doubled, other times tripled. His arsenal of shots 23 feet and in is still simply unmatched.

  • ClydeSays Posted: Jul.10 at 9:10 pm
    Rip in his prime (’03-07 maybe…) was one of the best mid range shooters Ive ever seen. Hitting an uncontested jumper is one thing. But curling around multiple screens, catching and shooting is on another level entirely. Ray Allen is right behind Rip…

  • JTaylor21 Posted: Jul.10 at 9:10 pm
    Just because he looks good or has allegedly unmatched arsenals of shots means his a top 5 midrange shooter. So what if someone like ray allen or rip just run around and catch and shoot means they are worse shooters. This is not a beauty contest, looking good doesn’t make u better. Also the man has never been tripled team, do you think that they will just leave gasol, fisher, bynum open. Riggght.

  • Sporting-Lisbon-Blazers Posted: Jul.10 at 9:24 pm
    LaMarcus Aldridge shoud be higher. its almost all he does(sigh) but hes does it well, very well.

  • The Black Rick Kamla Posted: Jul.10 at 10:31 pm
    @JTaylor21…..you must have just started watching Laker basketball these past 2 seasons if you say Kobe’s never been tripled…smh….anyways like I said Kobe can’t post up inside 23 ft without the attention of 2 players, while Dirk is a guy who most bigs simply can’t follow out to 18ft…..don’t know what upsets you so much about my comments, trying not to be as negative as you

  • davidR Posted: Jul.11 at 9:03 am
    howcome monta didnt make it?

  • GametimeWeezy Posted: Jul.11 at 12:32 pm
    Paul Pierce and Dwyane Wade NEED to be on the list for the buzzer-beaters alone…smh at Butler #4 ??? Durant and RIP def need to be higher.

  • vanillagorrila Posted: Jul.11 at 1:48 pm
    I like the idea for the article but this is really subjective as far results go. Players like kobe and roy are permanently doubled in the mid range and have skewed %s due to the difficulty of their shots. I agree with most of the places on the list but Butler, Garnett and Rose(the closest) over B-Roy? Maybe I’m just a homer but idk about that. I loved to see Dirk at number 1 tho, that german is just ridiculous from mid range.

  • COLT6 Posted: Jul.11 at 10:26 pm
    Wade, Bosh and LeBron in Miami. Is there enough space in the perimeter for these 3?

  • roebro Posted: Jul.11 at 11:57 pm
    always thought mid-range is about 13-23 feet, which includes inside the free throw line area…

  • the_baller20 Posted: Jul.12 at 10:16 am
    i think that list is pretty good although i don’t think that guys like d-rose and bosh should be that high on the list. guys like roy and allen should have been closer to the top.

  • Asad Posted: Jul.25 at 4:36 pm
    Um where is the truth? Mr. Paul Pierce. His signature move is the step back mid range j

  • Tyler Lucas Posted: Aug.6 at 11:50 am
    wheres Grant Hill, one of the best mid range shooters.

  • MrBallaBoy21 Posted: Sep.21 at 6:00 pm
    Are these in order? No way lebron should be so low if Kobe only makes .3 more than him.

  • EKG Posted: Jul.10 at 11:20 pm
    wtf derrick rose above steve nash, rip hamilton, joe johnson, stephen curry, luol deng, and kevin durant in midrange shooting? it’s not top 25 players, it’s best midrange shooters. rose is great athletic talent but he has a wayyyyyys to go on his jumpshot before he reaches those guys’ level. this list is a joke.

  • Cameron Posted: Dec.24 at 10:44 pm
    CARMELO SHOULD BE #1 OR #3 TO BE AT LEAST!!!!! MELO #7

  • Justin Posted: Jan.16 at 4:03 pm
    I don’t understand why you compile the rankings based on makes per game instead of percentage or even makes per 40 minutes. Rose over Nash? That should never happen in any shooting comparison. Anyway, I did my own analysis of shooting from the past five seasons. Nash was by far the best overall shooter and Dirk was the best from 16 to 23 feet. Here’s the link if anyone cares:
    http://ascreamingcomesacrossthecourt.blogspot.com/2012/01/best-shooter-of-past-five-years.html

  • Cameron Baloney Posted: Feb.21 at 4:37 pm
    WHY CARON BUTLER IS ALL THE WAY AT 4TH!!! CARMELO SHOULD BE AT 1ST!! MELO GONE MAKE IT MORE THAN KOBE ND DIRK WOULD!! YA’LL NEED TO GET SLAPPED.

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