While the three-pointer has become more and more important in the modern NBA, some players excel at scoring from various levels on the floor. Some are well known for it, like Trae Young and his deep threes or DeMar DeRozan and his mid-range jumper, but others are almost unexpected in terms of how effective they are in certain areas of the floor.
Every player has their spot and between the paint and the three-point line, various areas can be broken into sectors to identify which player is the best in the league at putting the ball through the hoop from there. Kirk Goldsberry shared a chart just like that, breaking down the leading scorers in the NBA by zone, with some truly surprising results.
Giannis is undoubtedly dominant right under the basket, while Steph Curry has 4 different spots to his name beyond the three-point line, two on either wing. The much-maligned Russell Westbrook has his mid-range spot, while the usual suspects like Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, and Joel Embiid operate in different areas of the mid-range. Jalen Brunson, Evan Fournier, and Devonte’ Graham are the potential surprises, and fans had a lot to say about this graph.
“The variety in people. I haven’t seen a graph like this with so many people.”
“Russ from his spot.”
“Young has more range than Curry?”
“Weird how Bron got 30 a game and isn’t here.”
“Ain’t that the spot Russell hits the side of the backboard from?”
“Fournier w/ two zones!!! The only other peeps with 2+ zones: Curry, KD, Young, Embiid, and Derozan.”
“Desmond Bane! Fantasy league bargain.”
“Didn’t expect to see Evan Fournier here in multiple places.”
“KAT needs to be taking 10-12 3’s per game.”
“Maxey WOW. Jalen Brunson is a shock and Russ .”
“Curry with 4 freaking zones.”
The NBA has incredible depth at this time, the talent in the league is at an all-time high, and even Jalen Rose seems to think so. With so many non-star players dominating areas of the floor as scorers, it just shows the depth of quality in the league. The playoffs will be the true measure for a lot of these players, it remains to be seen if a fair few of them can deliver when it matters most.
