Determining who the league’s worst shooters are isn’t a clear task. One might think to look simply at percentage, but we also take into account whether that player is “qualified.” For a definition of what a player needs to qualify, see this requirements chart at NBA.com. Suffice it to say, a player must have played in majority of his team’s games.
We also take into account how many shots of a given type the listed player has taken. We’re not putting Rasheed Wallace or Ronnie Brewer on our worst 3P% list because neither of them have taken a decent amount of shot from that distance. We’re trying to be fair about this in the other shooting categories as well. With that said, here are your worst shooters through week 16 of the 2012-13 NBA season.
Field-Goal Percentage
- C.J. Watson (BKN) This is Watson’s first appearance on the worst shooters list. He’s averaging 17.9 minutes per game and averaging only 6.9 points. His FG% is a mere .385, which is undoubtedly why he’s getting limited playing time.
- Bradley Beal (WAS) On average, Beal is only making 13.2 points per game, and he’s averaging just over 30 MPG. He is indeed only 19 years old and by all accounts has a high ceiling, but his .393 FG% will have to rise dramatically next season in order to silence to draft-pick critics. Note: No player on the Washington Wizards is averaging better than 14.7 points per game.
- Jason Kidd (NY) Kidd’s .393 FG% has come up since last year, when he shot 30 points lower at .363, and in 27.9 MPG he’s averaging only 7.2 points. This wouldn’t be so bad if Kidd’s assists per game wasn’t 3.6, a whopping 5.2 assists fewer than his career average of 8.8.
Honorable Mentions
- Brandon Jennings (MIL) .395 FG%
- Dion Waiters (CLE) .396 FG%
- Metta World Peace (LAL) .397 FG%
Three-point Field Goal Percentage
- Monta Ellis (MIL) Ellis made our previous lists in other categories; this time, he tops of worst three-point shooters list. Having taken 177 shots from outside the three-point line, he’s only managed to make 41 of them, which gives him a a 3P% of .232. There are no other stories behind this. He’s averaging 36.8 MPG, and his 3P% is 30 points lower than any qualified player in the NBA.
- Shannon Brown (PHX) .273 3P%.
- Gerald Green (IND) Green has had less playing time than most of our worst-shooters, however, that doesn’t exclude him from the lemonlight. Green went into the All-Star Break with a .282 3P%.
Honorable Mentions:
- Rudy Gay (TOR/MEM) .288 3P%
- Alonzo Gee (CLE) .303 3P%
- Kobe Bryant (LAL) .326, 91-279
- Metta World Peace (LAL) .346 3P%, 108-312
Free-throw Percentage
- Dwight Howard (LAL) He managed to qualify by playing in 48 games before being injured, and it’s once again no surprise that he leads the Sports Jerks list for worst free-throw shooters. At some point in the future, Howard may achieve immortal status on our all-time list. Time will tell. For the time being, Howard is clocking in at a cool .495 FT%, having made only 213 of his 430 attempts. It’s safe to say that when he comes back from injury, he will still be the man to foul.
- Josh Smith (ATL) Smith joins Howard as one of the only players in the league to have a FT% hovering at the 50% mark, and that’s exactly where Smith is shooting. He’s made 97 of his 194 attempts.
- Reggie Evans (BKN) It’s Evans’ second appearance on this list, and there’s no signs that he’s coming off of it anytime soon. .504 FT%
Honorable Mentions
- Omer Asik (HOU) .556 FT%
- JaVale McGee (DEN) .589 FT%
- Al Horford (ATL) .599 FT%
Stats courtesy of ESPN.com
