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The Dream Shake
One of the most exclusive clubs in the NBA pantheon is the 50-40-90 club. That is, players who have shot 50% from the field, 40% from three, and 90% from the free throw line. As it stands, only eight players have hit those marks-Larry Bird (twice), Mark Price, Reggie Miller, Steve Nash (four times), Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Malcolm Brogdon.
There have been thousands of NBA players to make their way through the league, and only eight of those thousands can successfully say that they belong in this club. This makes accomplishing this feat incredible rare and challenging.
Up next in our fantasy basketball series where we are highlighting the standard scoring categories in field goal percentage.
Field goal percentage is definitely going to favor the big man. Centers and power forwards are typically closer to the basket, and in no surprise, that alone makes it relatively easier to score a point. What normally kicks big men out of the 50-40-90 club is their inability to hit the three at a consistent level.
Here are last year’s top 3 finishers in field goal percentage:
Rudy Gobert
Gobert had a whopping .668% last season. If that seems pretty good, it’s because it is! This was Gobert’s best finish percentage-wise and the fourth time he’s finished the season above .600.
Clint Capela
Capela comes in second on the season with a .647%. Capela finished the previous season in first place, and third two seasons ago. He’s no stranger to good percentages.
Javale McGee
Rounding out the top-3 is McGee. McGee shot a .624% in a rebound year for the Lakers. Consistency has always been an issue for McGee, but the past three seasons he’s seen his field goal percentage increase to above .600%.
Predictions For This Season's Leaders in Field Goal Percentage
1. Rudy Gobert
With the addition of Mike Conley, Gobert will continue to be a force to be reckoned with. He dominates defensively, while being an efficient 3rd or 4th option on offense. Gobert is a player who will rebound well and block quite a bit of shots, so he’s a guy you are going to want to target.
2. Clint Capela
Capela has finished in the top-3 for the past three seasons and should continue to succeed in a role that doesn’t need him to create much offensively. With Russell Westbrook now in town, Capela’s rebounding might dip a little, but he’ll remain a high percentage from the field.
3. DeAndre Jordan
DeAndre currently holds the league best career field goal percentage. He has lead the league in this area five different times, and has never had a field goal percentage below .600% his entire career. Now on the new-look Brooklyn Nets, and especially with Kevin Durant out for awhile, Jordan will have the opportunity to prove his worth after bouncing around last season.
As stated earlier, this category is very lopsided when it comes to who shows up at the top of the list. In case you are looking for possible guard options who shoot a good percentage, well Ben Simmons is the only non-center, or non-forward in the top 30. Brogdon finished 33rd, and Joe Harris finished 37th last season.
When it comes to guards, you mainly want to see which ones are shooting below .400%. A guy like Tim Hardaway Jr. looks good on paper scoring 19 points a game, but when it means he’s doing so while shooting .388% from the field, you probably want to look elsewhere for those buckets.
You obviously aren’t going to field a team full of centers and power forwards either, but just make sure the bigs you do roster are ones who who have a high percentage from the field, or at the very least are contributing to multiple other areas at a high level. Someone like Kevin Knox, is a player you want to avoid. He shot .370% from he field, while not blocking many shots or snagging many rebounds.