Basketball · Level 6: Advanced · Sub-level 6.2

Shot Selection and Efficiency

10 tests · 100 facts · updated 22 October 2026 · markdown

Points per shot, effective field goal %, true shooting %, the mid-range, shots at the rim, free throws, shot quality and shot making, heat checks and the hot hand, Moreyball and the three-point revolution, and shot charts.

Each test below is ten questions on Insporta. The list under a test is what the questions check: one fact per question, with the source it was written from. Read it before the test, or come back from a wrong answer.

Test 1Points per shotTake a test

0.35 x 3 = 1.05 points per attempt.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
0.5 x 2 = 1 point per attempt.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
It turns shooting into a value per attempt.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
0.333 x 3 is about 1 point, the same as 0.5 x 2.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
Averages show which shots pay off.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
0.45 x 2 = 0.9 versus about 1.0 for the three.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
0.4 x 3 = 1.2.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied
1.2, then 1.0, then 0.8 points.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied
Rate, multiply, compare, choose.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied
0.35 x 3 = 1.05 beats 0.5 x 2 = 1.0.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied

Test 2Effective field goal %Take a test

It adjusts shooting for threes.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
Only made threes change eFG%.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
It credits the extra point of a three.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
(4 + 0.5 x 2) / 10 = 0.5.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
Only threes add the extra weight.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
Oliver's 'Basketball on Paper' (2004) set out the four factors.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
Made threes push eFG% up.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied
Makes, add half threes, divide, percent.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied
75%, 50%, 40%.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied
Made threes.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied

Test 3True shooting %Take a test

It measures scoring efficiency.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
TS% rewards scoring at the line.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
The 0.44 estimates possessions used by free throws.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
All scoring is included.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
And-ones and three-shot fouls change the count.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
Free throws lift true shooting.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
20 / (2 x 15) = 0.67.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied
FG% ignores threes' value, eFG% adds it, TS% adds free throws.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied
Points, adjust, double, divide.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied
Free throws.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied

Test 4The mid-rangeTake a test

It is the least efficient common shot.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
Long twos come from there.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
One step back would make it a three.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
0.54 x 2 = 1.08, the same as 0.36 x 3.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
Some players make them at a high rate.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
They protect the rim and the arc.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
One step back adds a point.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied
Rim, corner three, long two.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied
Paint, mid-range, arc.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied
Two points for a hard shot.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied

Test 5Shots at the rimTake a test

Close shots go in most.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
Close shots are the surest.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
Usually within about 1-2 metres.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
He blocks or changes shots near the rim.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
They play near the basket or drive.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
Speed and length cut off drives.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
Rim attempts are the best shots.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied
Closer and less contested goes in more.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied
Catch, attack, beat help, finish.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied
At the rim.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied

Test 6Free throwsTake a test

Most players make most of them.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
Players who draw fouls score cheaply.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
Key defenders may have to sit.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
It shows how often a team gets to the line.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
Drives draw contact.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
Even misses at the line may beat a long two.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
1.5 points beat 0.9.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied
Drive, contact, whistle, free throws.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied
1.8, 1.5, 1.0.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied
2 x 0.78 = 1.56.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied

Test 7Shot quality and shot makingTake a test

It depends on distance and defence.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
Great shooters beat the averages.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
Contested shots go in less often.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
Over many tries, quality pays.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
Skill can lift a tough shot's value.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
Set feet and an early look help.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
Movement creates open looks.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied
Open and set first.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied
Guarded, pass, move, open shot.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied
An open corner three.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied

Test 8Heat checks and the hot handTake a test

Belief can help, even if the effect is small.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
Fans and players often believe in it.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
Later work found a small effect at most.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
Hard shots go in less often.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
The choice, not only the result, matters.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
A made bad shot is still a bad habit.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
A hard shot after a run of makes.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied
Watch, look, judge, show.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied
Open first, heat check last.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied
A hard shot after a few makes in a row.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied

Test 9The three-point revolutionTake a test

Long twos are the least efficient.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
Morey ran the Houston Rockets' front office.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
Houston pushed the style in the 2010s.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson led a shooting revolution.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
Curry made deep threes a weapon.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
Teams shot far more threes.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
It chooses the efficient shots.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied
Threes and free throws are favoured; long twos are avoided.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied
Study, cut, add, track.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied
Threes, lay-ups and free throws.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied

Test 10Shot chartsTake a test

Dots show makes and misses by spot.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
Rim, mid-range, threes and free throws.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
Take away their favourite spots.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
The dots show his habits.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
Where a shot comes from tells a lot.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
Taking away strengths lowers efficiency.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · recall
Efficient shots raise points per possession.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied
Record, mark, group, show.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied
Modern teams cut mid-range shots.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied
Threes and rim shots dominate.
Source: General basketball reference, shot efficiency · applied

Sources

FIBA/WABC Coaches Manual Level 3 and general coaching references; original questions authored, nothing reproduced. Numbered FIBA rules belong to the Rules category.

General basketball reference, shot efficiency100