About the True Shooting %
Basketball players, coaches, and analysts use this calculator to measure scoring efficiency in a way that gives proper credit for three-point shooting and free throw trips, instead of treating every shot attempt as if it were worth the same as a standard two-point field goal. It's a quick way to see whether a player's raw scoring total is coming from efficient shot selection or simply high volume.
How It Works
Enter total points scored, field goals attempted, and free throws attempted. The calculator builds a combined shooting-attempts denominator that weights free throw attempts at 0.44 to approximate the true possessions used per free throw trip, then divides total points by twice that denominator to produce a single percentage figure.
Formula & Methodology
For 24 points on 16 field goal attempts and 6 free throw attempts, the denominator = 2 x (16 + 0.44 x 6) = 2 x (16 + 2.64) = 2 x 18.64 = 37.28, so true shooting percentage = 24 / 37.28 x 100 = 64.4%. The 0.44 coefficient exists because a shooting foul typically produces fewer than two free throw attempts on average once and-one fouls, technical fouls, and other foul types are blended together, so it approximates possessions used rather than simply counting every free throw as a full extra attempt.
Examples
An efficient high-volume scorer
24 points on 16 field goal attempts and 6 free throw attempts computes to a 64.4% true shooting percentage.
A free-throw-heavy scoring line
30 points on 14 field goal attempts and 12 free throw attempts gives a denominator of 2 x (14 + 0.44 x 12) = 2 x 19.28 = 38.56, for a true shooting percentage of 30 / 38.56 x 100 = 77.8%, showing how a high free throw volume can push efficiency well above a similar point total built mostly on field goals.
Advantages
- Accounts for the extra point value of a made three-pointer, unlike standard field goal percentage.
- Folds free throw shooting efficiency into a single combined number instead of tracking it as a separate stat.
- Gives a fairer efficiency comparison between high-volume scorers who rely on different mixes of two-point, three-point, and free throw shots.
Common Mistakes
- Comparing true shooting percentage directly against regular field goal percentage as if the two are measured on the same scale.
- Entering a combined shot-attempt total without correctly separating field goal attempts from free throw attempts.
- Treating the metric alone as a complete measure of a player's value, when it doesn't account for playmaking, rebounding, or defense.
Edge Cases to Watch For
- The denominator must come out positive; if field goal attempts and free throw attempts are both zero, or otherwise combine to a non-positive value, the calculator returns an error instead of a divide-by-zero result.
- The 0.44 free throw weighting is a fixed, league-wide approximation, not a figure calculated from any individual player's actual free-throw-trip rate.
- Entering point totals that don't logically match the attempts entered still produces a mathematically valid percentage, so the inputs should reflect one consistent, real stat line. Rounding in the displayed percentage is to one decimal place, so very close efficiency comparisons between two players may need the underlying points and attempts checked directly rather than relying on the rounded figure alone.
Common Use Cases
- Basketball analysts and fantasy players comparing scoring efficiency across players with different shot-attempt profiles.
- Coaches evaluating whether a player's scoring volume is actually coming with genuine shooting efficiency.
- Players and statisticians tracking personal or team shooting efficiency trends across a season.