Who is the best shooter in the NBL. This seems like such an easy question to some and names like James Harvey, Mat Campbell, Daryl Corletto, Darren Ng and Kevin Lisch would instantly be brought into the conversation. These guys are no slouches when it comes to draining the rock either but at AussieHoopla.com we thought we’d take a look at some advanced statistics they use in the NBA, pop them into the NBL and see how the Ballers’ from Down Under stack up.
So statistically who is the best shooter in the NBL for 2011-12?
Effective Field Goal Percentage (EFG%)
EFG% = (FG + 0.5 * 3P) / FGA
If Alex Pledger shoots 3/5 from the field for 6 points and Peter Crawford shoots 2/5 from behind the three point line for 6 points both of these players have scored the same amount of points on the same amount of shots and therefore both of these players would have the same Effective Field Goal Percentage. This statistic is a true measure of how “effective” a scorer is.
| Effective Field Goal Percentage (EFG%) | ||||||||
| Player Name | Team | GM | PPG | EFG% | FG% | 3PT% | FT% | |
| 1 | Diamon Simpson | ADE | 25 | 14.3 | 59.3% | 59.3% | 0.0% | 52.4% |
| 2 | Oscar Forman | WOL | 26 | 10.2 | 59.3% | 45.9% | 50.5% | 78.3% |
| 3 | Alex Pledger | NZL | 26 | 8.2 | 58.2% | 58.2% | 0.0% | 62.2% |
| 4 | Daryl Corletto | NZL | 26 | 10.4 | 57.7% | 45.2% | 43.3% | 86.1% |
| 5 | Gary Wilkinson | NZL | 26 | 16.4 | 57.4% | 51.9% | 39.6% | 83.3% |
| 6 | Jerai Grant | SYD | 27 | 12.2 | 56.7% | 56.5% | 100% | 61.7% |
| 7 | Aaron Grabau | CNS | 27 | 6.8 | 56.1% | 41.2% | 43.8% | 88.1% |
| 8 | Peter Crawford | TWN | 27 | 14.4 | 56.0% | 43.1% | 40.8% | 83.0% |
| 9 | Will Hudson | GCT | 27 | 9.7 | 55.5% | 55.5% | 0.0% | 56.3% |
| 10 | Kevin Lisch | PER | 27 | 17.6 | 55.5% | 45.8% | 42% | 81.2% |
Diamon Simpson may not be the greatest pure shooter in the NBL (anyone who has seen him shoot a free throw will agree) but the numbers don’t lie, and he is the most effective shooter in the NBL this season. The reality is and always has been that nothing can stop an effective big man, in this league or any other, and the fact that most players who find themselves on among the most effective shooters in the NBL are Power Forwards and Centres who get the ball down low and are a big enough presence to consistently score then ball. The NBL may be a little man’s league, but the big fella’s are still the most effective scorers in the NBL.
To get down to the real answer though of who is the best shooter in the NBL this year, effectiveness is good, but if we included a players free throw shooting would Diamon Simpson still be among the best shooters in the NBL? Especially considering he is such a liability on the Free Throw line, shooting barely over 50%. So how do you calculate who the best shooter actually is?
Welcome to the True Shooting Percentage (TS%)
TS% = PTS / (2 * (FGA + 0.44 * FTA))
The TS% takes in account the accuracy of a players field goals, three point shots and free throws. This is the best measure of how good a shooter is as any other statistic known around basketball circles.
Well as anyone who’s played the game of basketball will tell you Basketball is a game about more then statistics. There is only so much you can show by numbers and the fact that Diamon Simpson is still among the top ten even though he has shown he is clearly a poor free throw shooter proves that. The fact has never shot a three-point shot means that statistically he can’t be penalised him for it. Statistics can only ever show what a player actually does in a game, not what they’re capable of, so even though he is a poor free throw shooter and one can only assume he is not too potent behind the three point line he is still good enough to be ranked in the top 10 in TS%.
| True Shooting Percentage (TS%) | ||||||||
| Player Name | Team | GM | PPG | TS% | FG% | 3PT% | FT% | |
| 1 | Aaron Grabau | CNS | 27 | 6.8 | 61.5% | 41.2% | 43.8% | 88.1% |
| 2 | Kevin Lisch | PER | 27 | 17.6 | 61.0% | 45.8% | 41.6% | 81.2% |
| 3 | Oscar Forman | WOL | 26 | 10.2 | 60.7% | 45.9% | 50.5% | 78.3% |
| 4 | Peter Crawford | TWN | 27 | 14.4 | 60.6% | 43.1% | 40.8% | 83.0% |
| 5 | Daryl Corletto | NZL | 26 | 10.4 | 60.5% | 45.2% | 43.3% | 86.1% |
| 6 | Gary Wilkinson | NZL | 26 | 16.4 | 60.5% | 51.9% | 39.6% | 83.3% |
| 7 | Jesse Wagstaff | PER | 27 | 11.6 | 59.7% | 47.0% | 41.6% | 81.3% |
| 8 | Alex Pledger | NZL | 26 | 8.2 | 59.6% | 58.2% | 0.0% | 62.2% |
| 9 | Diamon Simpson | ADE | 25 | 14.3 | 59.4% | 59.3% | 0.0% | 52.4% |
| 10 | Jerai Grant | SYD | 27 | 12.2 | 58.7% | 56.5% | 100% | 61.7% |
But the fact remains that I said I would tell you who was the best shooter in the NBL (statistically) and that is the Cairns Taipans Aaron Grabau. Even though he scores only 7 points per game he is quite effective from all areas of the court shooting over 40% from the field and three-point line and almost 90% from the Free Throw line.
So the next time your team is playing the Cairns Taipans, remember he doesn’t take too many shots, but if “The Junk Man” Aaron Grabau does decide to let it fly against your team… chances are, statistically, that thing is probably going down.
GM=Games
PPG=Points Per Game
FG%=Field Goal Percentage
3PT%=Three Point Percentage
FT%=Free Throw Percentage
TS%= True Shooting Percentage
EFG%= Effective Field Goal Percentage
Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.
