![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/ayton2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Playing alongside Luka Don\u010di\u0107, Austin Reaves and LeBron James has helped raise Deandre Ayton\u2019s shooting stats.<\/p>\n
Player development is a huge part of success in the NBA. The best teams are often those that thrive at making their players better. Additionally, that season-to-season improvement can change the trajectory for seasons and careers.<\/p>\n
Shooting can come and go, and we\u2019re still less than halfway through the season, so numbers will surely change over the next three months. Here\u2019s a look at the players who have seen the biggest jumps (and drops) in different categories of shooting \u2026<\/p>\n
All stats are through Wednesday, Jan. 7.<\/p>\n
1. Effective field goal percentage<\/p>\n
Effective field goal percentage takes the value of 3-pointers into account: eFG% = (FGM + (0.5 * 3PM)) \/ FGA<\/p>\n
Biggest jump, effective FG%, 2024-25 to 2025-26<\/p>\n
2024-25
\n2025-26
\nDiff.<\/p>\n
Player
\nFGA
\nFG%
\neFG%
\nFGA
\nFG%
\neFG%
\neFG%<\/p>\n
Deandre Ayton
\n468
\n56.6%
\n57.3%
\n299
\n68.9%
\n68.9%
\n+11.6%<\/p>\n
Reed Sheppard
\n239
\n35.1%
\n45.2%
\n363
\n44.9%
\n56.6%
\n+11.4%<\/p>\n
Keldon Johnson
\n770
\n48.2%
\n53.8%
\n329
\n57.4%
\n64.3%
\n+10.5%<\/p>\n
Miles McBride
\n547
\n40.6%
\n51.1%
\n248
\n45.2%
\n60.9%
\n+9.8%<\/p>\n
Max Christie
\n590
\n42.7%
\n52.5%
\n303
\n48.2%
\n62%
\n+9.6%<\/p>\n
Isaiah Collier
\n555
\n42.2%
\n45.9%
\n162
\n51.2%
\n54.9%
\n+9%<\/p>\n
Alex Sarr
\n828
\n39.4%
\n45.7%
\n377
\n50.4%
\n54.4%
\n+8.7%<\/p>\n
Kyshawn George
\n546
\n37.2%
\n47.6%
\n315
\n46.7%
\n56.2%
\n+8.6%<\/p>\n
Wendell Carter Jr.
\n491
\n46%
\n49.8%
\n313
\n51.4%
\n58.3%
\n+8.5%<\/p>\n
Day\u2019Ron Sharpe
\n317
\n52.1%
\n53.8%
\n156
\n60.3%
\n62.2%
\n+8.4%<\/p>\n
Minimum 150 FGA in each of the last two seasons (224 players).<\/p>\n
The other end of the list\u2026<\/p>\n
Biggest drop, effective FG%, 2024-25 to 2025-26<\/p>\n
2024-25
\n2025-26
\nDiff.<\/p>\n
Player
\nFGA
\nFG%
\neFG%
\nFGA
\nFG%
\neFG%
\neFG%<\/p>\n
Keon Ellis
\n464
\n48.9%
\n63.9%
\n179
\n38.5%
\n50.6%
\n-13.3%<\/p>\n
Jared McCain
\n274
\n46%
\n55.3%
\n186
\n34.4%
\n42.2%
\n-13.1%<\/p>\n
Brandon Williams
\n188
\n52.1%
\n58.5%
\n317
\n43.2%
\n45.9%
\n-12.6%<\/p>\n
Aaron Nesmith
\n379
\n50.7%
\n61.7%
\n214
\n37.9%
\n49.3%
\n-12.4%<\/p>\n
Jarace Walker
\n360
\n47.2%
\n57.6%
\n304
\n36.5%
\n45.4%
\n-12.2%<\/p>\n
Jay Huff
\n305
\n51.5%
\n64.8%
\n243
\n43.2%
\n53.5%
\n-11.3%<\/p>\n
Jarrett Allen
\n640
\n70.6%
\n70.6%
\n240
\n59.6%
\n59.8%
\n-10.8%<\/p>\n
Brook Lopez
\n774
\n50.9%
\n59.9%
\n178
\n36.5%
\n49.4%
\n-10.4%<\/p>\n
Nikola Jovi\u0107
\n377
\n45.6%
\n56%
\n199
\n38.7%
\n46.5%
\n-9.5%<\/p>\n
Sam Hauser
\n474
\n45.1%
\n62.7%
\n243
\n37.4%
\n54.1%
\n-8.5%<\/p>\n
Minimum 150 FGA in each of the last two seasons (224 players).<\/p>\n
League average: 54.4%<\/p>\n
League leader (minimum 150 FGA): Rudy Gobert<\/a> (72%)<\/p>\n Biggest team jump: Charlotte, from 50.3% (30th<\/a>) last season to 54.2% (17th<\/a>) this season.<\/p>\n Three quick notes:<\/p>\n Deandre Ayton has benefited from playing with a trio of playmakers. He\u2019s been assisted on 83% of his field goals (the highest rate of his career<\/a>), with Luka Don\u010di\u0107, Austin Reaves and LeBron James accounting for 121<\/a> (71%) of those assists.<\/p>\n We should see a lot of second-year players near the top of this list, but it\u2019s great for the Wizards for Alex Sarr and Kyshawn George to both be in the top 10.<\/p>\n It\u2019s amazing that the Celtics have the league\u2019s second-ranked offense, with three guys \u2013 Sam Hauser (-8.5%<\/a>, ninth biggest drop), Derrick White (-8.4%<\/a>, 11th) and Payton Pritchard (-8.2%<\/a>, 12th) \u2013 having seen significant drops in effective field goal percentage. Jaylen Brown has seen a big jump in efficiency<\/a> with a huge jump in usage rate, and the team has also seen a big jump<\/a> in offensive rebounding percentage.<\/p>\n 2. Paint shooting Dillon Brooks\u2019 production in the paint is up in 2025-26, while his 3-point shooting is down a tick.<\/p>\n Here are the players who have finished better (and worse) in the paint\u2026<\/p>\n Biggest jump, FG% in the paint, 2024-25 to 2025-26<\/p>\n 2024-25 Player Quinten Post Day\u2019Ron Sharpe Dillon Brooks Jose Alvarado Jerami Grant Chet Holmgren Alex Sarr Noah Clowney Jordan Clarkson Draymond Green Minimum 75 paint FGA in each of the last two seasons (209 players).<\/p>\n The other end of the list \u2026<\/p>\n Biggest drop, FG% in the paint, 2024-25 to 2025-26<\/p>\n 2024-25 Player Aaron Nesmith Jarace Walker Derrick White Patrick Williams Jared McCain Malik Monk Jarrett Allen Cason Wallace Cameron Johnson Ronald Holland II Minimum 75 paint FGA in each of the last two seasons (209 players).<\/p>\n League average: 57.4%<\/p>\n League leader (minimum 75 FGA): Ryan Kalkbrenner (80.7%)<\/p>\n Biggest team jump: Brooklyn, from 52.9% (29th) last season to 57.7% (11th) this season.<\/p>\n Three quick notes:<\/p>\n Chet Holmgren shot 65% in the paint as a rookie, but saw a big drop last season. Now, he\u2019s at 68.8%, a mark that ranks fourth among 78 players with at least 200 attempts in the paint. He\u2019s also taken a career-high 61% of his shots in the paint.<\/p>\n Pacers Aaron Nesmith and Jarace Walker are both near the bottom of the effective field goal percentage list above, and that\u2019s largely about their finishing in the paint.<\/p>\n 3. 3-point shooting Tari Eason\u2019s 56% on corner 3-pointers is one of the top marks in the NBA this season.<\/p>\n Here are the players who have shot better (and worse) from beyond the arc\u2026<\/p>\n Biggest jump, 3-point %, 2024-25 to 2025-26<\/p>\n 2024-25 Player Wendell Carter Jr. Tari Eason Kel\u2019el Ware Ayo Dosunmu Bobby Portis Keldon Johnson Max Christie Kyshawn George Bub Carrington Miles McBride Minimum 75 3PA in each of the last two seasons (192 players).<\/p>\n The other end of the list\u2026<\/p>\n Biggest drop, 3-point %, 2024-25 to 2025-26<\/p>\n 2024-25 Player Tyus Jones Jaylin Williams Ja Morant Jay Huff Brice Sensabaugh Jake LaRavia De\u2019Andre Hunter Lonzo Ball Luguentz Dort Keon Ellis Minimum 75 3PA in each of the last two seasons (192 players).<\/p>\n League average: 35.9%<\/p>\n League leader (minimum 75 3PA): Bobby Portis<\/a> (47.3%)<\/p>\n Biggest team jump: Charlotte, from 33.9% (28th<\/a>) last season to 37.1% (sixth<\/a>) this season.<\/p>\n Three quick notes:<\/p>\n Wendell Carter Jr. saw improvement from 3-point range<\/a> every season he was in the league before dropping from 37.4% in 2023-24 to a brutal 23.4% last season. So this season\u2019s improvement is really just a return to form.<\/p>\n Tari Eason shot just 34.5% on four attempts per 36 minutes over his first three seasons in the league, but is at 46.8% on seven attempts per 36<\/a> this season. His 56% from the corners is the best mark<\/a> among 56 players with at least 50 attempts.<\/p>\n Bub Carrington would be near the bottom of the paint-shooting list if he had one more field goal attempt inside. He\u2019s 23-for-74 (31.1%) in the paint, down from 47.5% last season. But he\u2019s negated those struggles with big improvement from beyond the arc.<\/p>\n 4. Pull-up shooting Blazers standout Deni Avdija has seen his effective FG% on pull-up shots drop 13.6% this season.<\/p>\n Here are the players who have shot more (and less) effectively off the dribble\u2026<\/p>\n Biggest jump, pull-up effective FG%, 2024-25 to 2025-26<\/p>\n 2024-25 Player Tim Hardaway Jr. Reed Sheppard Jrue Holiday Nikola Joki\u0107 Miles McBride Bobby Portis Jaylen Brown Bennedict Mathurin Kyshawn George CJ McCollum Minimum 75 pull-up FGA in each of the last two seasons (98 players).<\/p>\n The other end of the list\u2026<\/p>\n Biggest drop, pull-up effective FG%, 2024-25 to 2025-26<\/p>\n 2024-25 Player Jarace Walker Collin Sexton Paolo Banchero Deni Avdija Gary Trent Jr. Jordan Poole Jaren Jackson Jr. Quentin Grimes Desmond Bane Jalen Williams Minimum 75 pull-up FGA in each of the last two seasons (98 players).<\/p>\n League average: 46.1%<\/p>\n League leader (minimum 75 FGA): Tim Hardaway Jr.<\/a> (65.7%)<\/p>\n Biggest team jump: Denver, from 45.7% (16th<\/a>) last season to 52% (second<\/a>) this season.<\/p>\n Two quick notes:<\/p>\n Teaming up with Nikola Joki\u0107 should help your shooting, but Tim Hardaway Jr. hasn\u2019t shot much better off the catch than he did last season. Instead, he\u2019s an incredible 28-for-54<\/a> (51.9%) on pull-up 3-pointers. Add improvement from Joki\u0107 himself and Jamal Murray (less of a jump, but on almost twice as many shots as Hardaway and Joki\u0107 combined), and the Nuggets have the No. 1 offense<\/a> in the league.<\/p>\n Paulo Banchero banked in a pull-up 3<\/a> to beat the Nets at the buzzer on Wednesday, but he\u2019s otherwise had a pretty rough year shooting off the dribble. The Magic still rank as the league\u2019s second-most-improved offensive team, but they\u2019d be in even better shape if their star didn\u2019t have the sixth-lowest effective field goal percentage<\/a> (49%) among 129 players with at least 300 field goal attempts.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n John Schuhmann has covered the NBA for more than 20 years. You can e-mail him\u00a0here<\/a>, find his\u00a0archive here\u00a0<\/a>and\u00a0follow him on Bluesky<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Playing alongside Luka Don\u010di\u0107, Austin Reaves and LeBron James has helped raise Deandre Ayton\u2019s shooting stats. Player development…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":400306,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-400305","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=400305"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400305\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/400306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=400305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=400305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=400305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/brooks.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n2025-26
\nDiff.<\/p>\n
\nFGM
\nFGA
\nFG%
\nFGM
\nFGA
\nFG%
\nFG%<\/p>\n
\n45
\n87
\n51.7%
\n52
\n79
\n65.8%
\n+14.1%<\/p>\n
\n146
\n259
\n56.4%
\n88
\n130
\n67.7%
\n+11.3%<\/p>\n
\n146
\n313
\n46.6%
\n118
\n204
\n57.8%
\n+11.2%<\/p>\n
\n84
\n191
\n44%
\n44
\n80
\n55%
\n+11%<\/p>\n
\n86
\n223
\n38.6%
\n83
\n168
\n49.4%
\n+10.8%<\/p>\n
\n115
\n198
\n58.1%
\n165
\n240
\n68.8%
\n+10.7%<\/p>\n
\n194
\n414
\n46.9%
\n149
\n259
\n57.5%
\n+10.7%<\/p>\n
\n45
\n105
\n42.9%
\n58
\n109
\n53.2%
\n+10.4%<\/p>\n
\n98
\n213
\n46%
\n78
\n139
\n56.1%
\n+10.1%<\/p>\n
\n125
\n241
\n51.9%
\n50
\n82
\n61%
\n+9.1%<\/p>\n
\n2025-26
\nDiff.<\/p>\n
\nFGM
\nFGA
\nFG%
\nFGM
\nFGA
\nFG%
\nFG%<\/p>\n
\n93
\n151
\n61.6%
\n28
\n75
\n37.3%
\n-24.3%<\/p>\n
\n82
\n146
\n56.2%
\n49
\n123
\n39.8%
\n-16.3%<\/p>\n
\n136
\n213
\n63.8%
\n74
\n153
\n48.4%
\n-15.5%<\/p>\n
\n96
\n201
\n47.8%
\n30
\n90
\n33.3%
\n-14.4%<\/p>\n
\n66
\n123
\n53.7%
\n32
\n77
\n41.6%
\n-12.1%<\/p>\n
\n236
\n420
\n56.2%
\n53
\n119
\n44.5%
\n-11.7%<\/p>\n
\n441
\n615
\n71.7%
\n133
\n217
\n61.3%
\n-10.4%<\/p>\n
\n151
\n258
\n58.5%
\n53
\n108
\n49.1%
\n-9.5%<\/p>\n
\n163
\n260
\n62.7%
\n47
\n88
\n53.4%
\n-9.3%<\/p>\n
\n153
\n245
\n62.4%
\n79
\n148
\n53.4%
\n-9.1%<\/p>\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/tari-eason.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n2025-26
\nDiff.<\/p>\n
\n3PM
\n3PA
\n3P%
\n3PM
\n3PA
\n3P%
\n3P%<\/p>\n
\n37
\n158
\n23.4%
\n43
\n119
\n36.1%
\n+12.7%<\/p>\n
\n63
\n184
\n34.2%
\n44
\n94
\n46.8%
\n+12.6%<\/p>\n
\n35
\n111
\n31.5%
\n46
\n107
\n43%
\n+11.5%<\/p>\n
\n62
\n189
\n32.8%
\n56
\n127
\n44.1%
\n+11.3%<\/p>\n
\n65
\n178
\n36.5%
\n71
\n150
\n47.3%
\n+10.8%<\/p>\n
\n87
\n274
\n31.8%
\n45
\n107
\n42.1%
\n+10.3%<\/p>\n
\n115
\n314
\n36.6%
\n84
\n185
\n45.4%
\n+8.8%<\/p>\n
\n114
\n354
\n32.2%
\n60
\n147
\n40.8%
\n+8.6%<\/p>\n
\n138
\n407
\n33.9%
\n71
\n167
\n42.5%
\n+8.6%<\/p>\n
\n115
\n312
\n36.9%
\n78
\n172
\n45.3%
\n+8.5%<\/p>\n
\n2025-26
\nDiff.<\/p>\n
\n3PM
\n3PA
\n3P%
\n3PM
\n3PA
\n3P%
\n3P%<\/p>\n
\n166
\n401
\n41.4%
\n26
\n85
\n30.6%
\n-10.8%<\/p>\n
\n61
\n153
\n39.9%
\n30
\n102
\n29.4%
\n-10.5%<\/p>\n
\n88
\n285
\n30.9%
\n16
\n77
\n20.8%
\n-10.1%<\/p>\n
\n81
\n200
\n40.5%
\n50
\n164
\n30.5%
\n-10%<\/p>\n
\n157
\n372
\n42.2%
\n52
\n161
\n32.3%
\n-9.9%<\/p>\n
\n60
\n142
\n42.3%
\n40
\n121
\n33.1%
\n-9.2%<\/p>\n
\n157
\n388
\n40.5%
\n59
\n188
\n31.4%
\n-9.1%<\/p>\n
\n67
\n195
\n34.4%
\n32
\n121
\n26.4%
\n-7.9%<\/p>\n
\n170
\n413
\n41.2%
\n55
\n165
\n33.3%
\n-7.8%<\/p>\n
\n139
\n321
\n43.3%
\n43
\n121
\n35.5%
\n-7.8%<\/p>\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/deni-avdija.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n2025-26
\nDiff.<\/p>\n
\nFGA
\nFG%
\neFG%
\nFGA
\nFG%
\neFG%
\neFG%<\/p>\n
\n182
\n34.6%
\n42%
\n102
\n52%
\n65.7%
\n+23.7%<\/p>\n
\n81
\n28.4%
\n34.6%
\n142
\n41.5%
\n50%
\n+15.4%<\/p>\n
\n157
\n31.8%
\n40.4%
\n82
\n41.5%
\n54.9%
\n+14.4%<\/p>\n
\n142
\n31.7%
\n38.7%
\n80
\n46.3%
\n53.1%
\n+14.4%<\/p>\n
\n217
\n38.7%
\n46.3%
\n90
\n44.4%
\n57.8%
\n+11.5%<\/p>\n
\n135
\n40.7%
\n42.6%
\n92
\n51.1%
\n53.8%
\n+11.2%<\/p>\n
\n407
\n35.9%
\n42%
\n373
\n46.1%
\n52.3%
\n+10.3%<\/p>\n
\n285
\n31.6%
\n39.6%
\n122
\n39.3%
\n49.6%
\n+9.9%<\/p>\n
\n122
\n27%
\n36.9%
\n126
\n38.9%
\n46%
\n+9.1%<\/p>\n
\n444
\n37.8%
\n46.6%
\n264
\n45.8%
\n55.7%
\n+9.1%<\/p>\n
\n2025-26
\nDiff.<\/p>\n
\nFGA
\nFG%
\neFG%
\nFGA
\nFG%
\neFG%
\neFG%<\/p>\n
\n106
\n42.5%
\n53.8%
\n88
\n31.8%
\n38.6%
\n-15.1%<\/p>\n
\n297
\n41.1%
\n50.2%
\n95
\n29.5%
\n35.3%
\n-14.9%<\/p>\n
\n433
\n38.1%
\n44.5%
\n141
\n28.4%
\n30.1%
\n-14.3%<\/p>\n
\n111
\n44.1%
\n57.2%
\n140
\n35.7%
\n43.6%
\n-13.6%<\/p>\n
\n223
\n42.6%
\n52.5%
\n84
\n32.1%
\n39.3%
\n-13.2%<\/p>\n
\n450
\n37.1%
\n51.9%
\n93
\n29%
\n39.2%
\n-12.6%<\/p>\n
\n223
\n48%
\n51.8%
\n97
\n39.2%
\n41.2%
\n-10.6%<\/p>\n
\n283
\n38.2%
\n48.8%
\n87
\n27.6%
\n38.5%
\n-10.3%<\/p>\n
\n377
\n40.8%
\n52.4%
\n191
\n34.6%
\n42.7%
\n-9.7%<\/p>\n
\n469
\n43.5%
\n47.2%
\n99
\n36.4%
\n37.9%
\n-9.3%<\/p>\n