My Son's Coach Benched Him for Shooting 38%. His True Shooting Percentage Told a Different Story.
Tryouts for my son's school team wrapped up right as practices ramped up this month, and the box score from his first scrimmage had his FG% sitting at 38%. The coach mentioned it, not harshly, but pointedly — "we need him more efficient." I pulled up the same box score that night: 6-for-16 from the field, but 4 of those makes were 3-pointers, and he'd gone 8-for-9 from the free-throw line. Once I ran his true shooting percentage, he was sitting at 61% — above the NBA's own elite threshold — while the teammate the coach praised for his "solid 48%" FG night had a true shooting percentage nearly ten points lower.
Field goal percentage is the number every parent, coach, and broadcast graphic leads with, and it's quietly one of the most misleading stats in the sport. Here's what it actually measures, why effective FG% and true shooting % tell a more honest story, and how to run your own numbers instead of eyeballing a box score.
What Field Goal Percentage Actually Measures — and What It Misses
Field goal percentage (FG%) is shots made divided by shots attempted, counting 2-pointers and 3-pointers identically. It's the oldest shooting stat in basketball and still the first number listed on any stat sheet, from rec-league scorebooks to NBA box scores.
That flat treatment is the problem. A made 3-pointer is worth 50% more than a made 2-pointer on the scoreboard, but FG% doesn't know the difference — it scores a corner three exactly the same as a contested layup. And FG% ignores free throws entirely, even though a player who gets fouled constantly and shoots 90% from the line is generating enormous value that never touches the FG% formula.
- A high-volume 3-point shooter can post a "bad" 38–42% FG% while actually being one of the most efficient scorers on the floor.
- A player who never draws a foul and never shoots from deep can look identical in FG% terms to one who does both — despite very different value.
Key Takeaway
Field goal percentage treats every made shot as equal and ignores free throws completely. Two players can post the same FG% while one scores far more efficiently once 3-point value and free-throw trips are counted.
Effective FG%: Crediting the Three
Effective field goal percentage (eFG%) adjusts FG% to account for the extra value of a 3-pointer, so a shooter who makes a lot of threes doesn't get unfairly penalized against someone who only shoots 2s. The metric was popularized by analyst Dean Oliver in his 2004 book Basketball on Paper, which laid much of the groundwork for modern basketball analytics.
The 0.5 multiplier exists because a made 3-pointer is worth half a field goal more than a made 2-pointer — 50% more points for the same "one make" in the FG% denominator. Add that half-credit for every 3-pointer made, and a player's real scoring efficiency starts to show through. My son's 4 made threes turned his 38% FG night into a much healthier 50% eFG% night, before free throws were even factored in.
⚠️ Note
eFG% still leaves out free throws entirely. A player who draws a lot of contact and shoots well from the line will still look worse in eFG% than their real efficiency deserves — that's exactly what true shooting percentage exists to fix.
True Shooting %: Folding In Free Throws
True shooting percentage (TS%) measures points scored per shooting possession, counting field goal attempts and free-throw attempts together in a single denominator. It's widely considered the single best all-around measure of individual scoring efficiency because it captures the three ways a player generates points — 2s, 3s, and free throws — in one number.
The 0.44 coefficient, also from Dean Oliver's research, estimates the share of free-throw trips that consume a full offensive possession (most free-throw trips come in pairs or as part of an and-1, so a straight 1-for-1 count would overstate how many possessions they actually use). Run my son's full line — 6-for-16 shooting, 4 makes from deep, 8-for-9 at the line — through that formula and his 38% FG night becomes a 61.4% true shooting night, comfortably above what the league itself treats as elite.
💡 Pro Tip
If a coach, teammate, or fellow parent is only looking at FG%, ask about eFG% and TS% before agreeing a player is "inefficient." A 3-point specialist and a free-throw-drawing slasher can both look mediocre in raw FG% while actually outscoring the field on a per-shot basis.
A Worked Example: Two Players, Same FG%, Different Value
Here's a simplified version of the exact comparison from that scrimmage box score. Both players shoot 38% from the field on the same number of attempts — but their shot selection and free-throw production tell very different stories.
| Stat | Player A (son) | Player B |
|---|---|---|
| FGA | 16 | 16 |
| FGM | 6 | 6 |
| 3PM / 3PA | 4 / 9 | 0 / 3 |
| FTM / FTA | 8 / 9 | 2 / 3 |
| PTS | 24 | 14 |
| FG% | 38% | 38% |
| eFG% | 50.0% | 37.5% |
| TS% | 61.4% | 39.3% |
Identical field goal percentage. A 22-point gap in true shooting percentage. Player A scored 10 more points on the exact same number of shot attempts, almost entirely because of 3-point volume and drawing fouls — value that FG% cannot see at all. Judged on the headline stat alone, these two box scores look the same. Judged on TS%, one player was one of the most efficient scorers on the floor and the other was well below average.
You can run your own team's or your kid's box score through the same math using the basketball stats calculator — enter points, field goals, 3-pointers, and free throws, and it returns FG%, eFG%, TS%, and an overall efficiency score instantly, color-coded against league benchmarks.
What's a Good True Shooting Percentage?
Both eFG% and TS% use a different scale than raw FG%, which is part of why comparing them at face value causes confusion. A 50% FG% and a 58% TS% aren't measuring the same thing, even though they look like similar-sized numbers.
| Stat | Elite | Average | Below Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| FG% | 50%+ | 40% – 50% | Below 40% |
| eFG% | 55%+ | 45% – 55% | Below 45% |
| TS% | 58%+ | 50% – 58% | Below 50% |
According to publicly tracked NBA season averages, league-wide TS% typically sits between 56% and 58% in a given season, with elite scorers regularly posting 60% or higher on real volume. That's a materially different bar than the 50%-plus most fans use as the "good FG%" cutoff, which is exactly why a 38% FG night can still be an outstanding scoring performance once free throws and 3-point value are counted properly.
This isn't just an NBA-only framework, either — the same eFG% and TS% formulas apply cleanly to WNBA, EuroLeague, FIBA international play, NCAA, high school, and rec-league box scores, since they're unit-less ratios that don't depend on league, court size, or country. A German club league box score and a Friday-night American JV game run through the identical math.
Key Takeaway
A true shooting percentage of 58% or higher is considered elite at the professional level, while the league-wide NBA average typically runs 56–58% in a given season. Raw FG% and TS% are not directly comparable numbers, even when they look similar in size.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is true shooting percentage considered better than field goal percentage?
True shooting percentage accounts for the extra value of a made 3-pointer and folds in free-throw production, both of which field goal percentage ignores completely. Two players can share the exact same FG% while one is generating far more points per shot attempt through 3s and free throws — TS% reveals that gap, while FG% hides it.
What is a good true shooting percentage in basketball?
A true shooting percentage of 58% or higher is generally considered elite, roughly matching the NBA's own season-average range of 56–58%. A TS% between 50% and 58% is a normal, average range for most rotation players, and anything below 50% signals real scoring inefficiency.
Do free throws count toward field goal percentage?
No. Free throws are entirely excluded from the FG% formula, which is exactly why a player who draws a lot of fouls and shoots well from the line can have real offensive value that field goal percentage doesn't reflect at all. True shooting percentage is the stat that credits free throws.
What's the difference between effective FG% and true shooting %?
Effective FG% (eFG%) only adjusts for the extra value of made 3-pointers relative to 2-pointers. True shooting % (TS%) goes a step further and also factors in free throws, using points scored per true shooting attempt. TS% is the more complete efficiency number of the two.
Is true shooting percentage the same as Player Efficiency Rating (PER)?
No. TS% only measures scoring efficiency on shots taken. Official PER, developed by analyst John Hollinger, also folds in rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, and turnovers, then adjusts everything for a team's pace and the league's scoring environment that season — which requires full-season, league-wide data that a single box score cannot supply.
Try It Yourself
Field goal percentage tells you how many shots fell in. Effective FG% and true shooting percentage tell you how much real scoring value a player generated per possession — and the gap between the two can flip a "bad shooting night" into one of the most efficient performances on the floor.
Use the Basketball Stats Calculator to turn any box score into FG%, eFG%, TS%, and an overall efficiency score instantly. If you're chasing efficiency numbers in other sports too, the baseball stats calculator untangles OBP, SLG, and OPS the same way, and the vertical jump calculator is a good next stop for measuring raw athleticism off the same box score.
