About the Shooting % Calculator
A basketball shooting percentage calculator turns raw made-and-attempted counts from two-point range, three-point range, and the free throw line into the four percentages coaches and stat trackers look at most: field goal percentage, three-point percentage, free throw percentage, and effective field goal percentage. It is built for anyone who has a box score in hand and wants those efficiency numbers without doing several divisions by hand.
How It Works
Enter makes and attempts for field goals, three-pointers, and free throws. The calculator divides makes by attempts for each category to get a straight percentage, and separately computes effective field goal percentage from total field goal makes, three-point makes, and total field goal attempts. Any category left at zero attempts simply returns 0% for that line instead of an error, so a partial box score still produces a result.
Formula & Methodology
Effective field goal percentage exists because a three-pointer is worth 50% more than a two-pointer, so treating all makes equally understates a three-point shooter's actual scoring value. The 0.5 weight added to three-point makes accounts for that extra half-point of value per shot relative to a two-point make, so a player who makes fewer total shots but a higher share of them from three can post a higher eFG% than their plain field goal percentage would suggest.
Examples
15-Shot Outing
A guard who goes 8 for 15 from the field, including 2 of 5 threes, and 4 of 5 from the line, produces FG% of 53.3%, 3P% of 40.0%, FT% of 80.0%, and eFG% of 60.0%, since (8 + 0.5 x 2) / 15 x 100 equals 60.
Three-Heavy Game
A shooter who hits 5 of 12 field goals, with 4 of those makes coming from three (on 9 three-point attempts), posts FG% of 41.7% but eFG% of 58.3%, since (5 + 0.5 x 4) / 12 x 100 equals 58.3, showing how made threes lift efficiency above raw FG%.
Advantages
- Calculates four related percentages in one pass instead of several separate manual divisions.
- Effective field goal percentage automatically adjusts for the extra value of made three-pointers.
- Handles missing categories, like a game with zero three-point attempts, without producing errors.
Common Mistakes
- Citing raw field goal percentage when discussing a three-point-heavy shooter instead of effective field goal percentage.
- Double counting three-pointers by adding 3PM on top of FGM, when FGM already includes all made field goals.
- Treating free throw percentage or three-point percentage from a very small attempt sample as a stable, repeatable rate.
Edge Cases to Watch For
- If field goal attempts are zero, both FG% and eFG% return 0% rather than dividing by zero.
- Three-point attempts or free throw attempts at zero likewise return 0% for that specific line without producing an error.
- Three-pointers made are already included within total field goals made, so they should not be entered or added again separately on top of FGM.
Common Use Cases
- Youth and high school coaches charting box scores for practice and game reports.
- Fantasy basketball players evaluating a player's shooting efficiency across categories.
- Fans and analysts comparing how a volume scorer's raw and effective shooting percentages differ.