Kevin Durant is once again 1 of the NBA’s best at scoring off pull-up jumpers.
There’s been an ongoing discussion over the past few weeks about the explosion of individual offense around the league so far this season, with 40-point and 50-point games spiking toward Wilt Chamberlain-era numbers.
While we don’t have player tracking data that goes back that far, we are 10 seasons removed from its debut, giving us additional insight into the game on both a nightly and year-by-year trending basis.
When it comes to pull-up shooting, we had one player average double-figure points on pull-ups in each of the first four seasons of the player-tracking era: Stephen Curry (11.1 ppg) in 2013-14; Chris Paul (10.1 ppg) in 2014-15; Curry (10.8 ppg) again in 2015-16; and Russell Westbrook (11.0 ppg) in 2016-17 — with the latter two coming in Kia MVP-winning seasons.
Since that time, the number has risen fair steadily: two apiece in both 2017-18 and 2018-19, with the James Harden run in Houston leading the way.
It then jumped to five double-digit pull-up scorers in 2019-20 and six in 2020-21 with players such as Damian Lillard, Trae Young and Luka Doncic joining the field. It dipped back to five last season and now we currently have seven players averaging double-figure points on pull-up shots this season, through games played on Jan. 10
| RANK | PLAYER | PPG | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | EFG% |
| 1 | Luka Doncic | 12.3 | 4.9 | 12.4 | 39.4 | 2.5 | 7.2 | 34.8 | 49.5 |
| 2 | Kevin Durant | 12.2 | 5.6 | 10.3 | 54.7 | 0.9 | 2.3 | 37.8 | 59.0 |
| 3 | Donovan Mitchell | 11.7 | 4.5 | 9.9 | 46.0 | 2.6 | 5.9 | 44.0 | 59.2 |
| 4 | Stephen Curry | 11.5 | 4.2 | 9.1 | 46.5 | 3.0 | 6.4 | 47.7 | 63.3 |
| 5 | Devin Booker | 11.4 | 5.0 | 11.5 | 43.5 | 1.4 | 4.1 | 35.3 | 49.8 |
| 6 | DeMar DeRozan | 10.3 | 5.1 | 10.6 | 48.0 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 45.5 | 48.6 |
| 7 | Kyrie Irving | 10.2 | 4.3 | 9.0 | 48.0 | 1.6 | 4.1 | 37.9 | 56.6 |
| 8 | Trae Young | 9.8 | 4.0 | 11.3 | 35.8 | 1.7 | 5.7 | 29.8 | 43.3 |
| 9 | Damian Lillard | 9.4 | 3.6 | 9.0 | 39.8 | 2.2 | 6.1 | 36.0 | 52.2 |
| 10 | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 9.1 | 4.2 | 9.2 | 45.6 | 0.7 | 2.0 | 33.3 | 49.3 |
It shouldn’t come as a surprise to see Doncic atop this list. He leads the NBA in both scoring (34.2 ppg) and field goal attempts (22.8 per game) and ranks second in usage rate (37.8%). The entire Dallas offense is built around Doncic and his seemingly otherworldly talents, similar to what we’ve seen in seasons past, whether it was Curry in Golden State, Harden in Houston, Westbrook in OKC (post-Durant), Kobe Bryant in L.A. (post Shaq, pre-Gasol), Michael Jordan in Chicago or Allen Iverson in Philadelphia.
The legends listed above, and the top 10 pull-up scorers this season, have the ability to create their own shot on any possession. These players can also create shots for teammates and get open looks off great ball and player movement. But when the shot clock is dwindling down, or there is a defensive matchup they want to exploit, these players can wave off their teammates, get to work and create a decent shot – whether it’s a 3-pointer, a mid-range jumper or even getting all the way to the basket.
Luka Doncic finishes with 43 points against the Clippers on Jan. 10.
When we examine this year’s top 10 pull-up scorers, there are a few trends that stand out immediately.
First, is the correlation between elite scoring on pull-ups and overall elite scoring. No player ranked in the top 10 in pull-up scoring ranks below 17th in overall scoring average and includes five of the top eight scorers in the league.
Second, nearly every player in the top 10 in pull-up scoring far exceeds the league average in shooting percentages on pull-ups — 38.7% from the field, 33.3% from 3-point range for an effective field goal percentage of 45.6%. By comparison, the league average effective field goal percentage on catch-and-shoots is 54.1% with many of those attempts coming on open 3-point attempts.
Stephen Curry is enjoying an epic season in terms of effective field goal percentage.
The players that stand out most when it comes to pull-up shooting efficiency should also come at little surprise — Durant and Curry — but the former teammates do so it in different ways. Of the 193 players that have attempted at least 35 pull-up shots on the season, Curry has the highest effective field goal percentage (63.3%), which is on pace to be the highest of the player-tracking era.
Curry’s eFG% is fueled by his 47.7% shooting on 6.4 pull-up 3-point attempts per game. In the 10 years of player-tracking data, there have been eight instances of a player shooting at least 43% on pull-up 3-pointers; Curry is the only player with multiple such seasons (43.8% in 2015-16), and none higher than his rate this season.
On the other hand, Durant — the only non-guard on this top 10 list — has been absolutely masterful from the mid-range so far in 2022-23. Durant averages seven mid-range shots per game — second only to DeMar DeRozan’s 9.4 — and Durant is shooting a ridiculously-accurate 57% on those attempts. By comparison, DeRozan shoots 48.1% from the mid-range and the league average is 41.4%.
| RANK | PLAYER | PULL-UP PPG | Total PPG (RANK) | USG% (RANK) | %PPG ON PULL-UP |
| 1 | Luka Doncic | 12.3 | 34.2 (1) | 37.8 (2) | 36.0% |
| 2 | Kevin Durant | 12.2 | 29.7 (7) | 31.1 (12) | 41.1% |
| 3 | Donovan Mitchell | 11.7 | 29.3 (8) | 31.0 (14) | 39.9% |
| 4 | Stephen Curry | 11.5 | 29.7 (6) | 29.7 (18) | 38.7% |
| 5 | Devin Booker | 11.4 | 27.1 (14) | 31.2 (10) | 42.1% |
| 6 | DeMar DeRozan | 10.3 | 26.1 (16) | 28.2 (25) | 39.5% |
| 7 | Kyrie Irving | 10.2 | 26.0 (17) | 28.7 (23) | 39.2% |
| 8 | Trae Young | 9.8 | 27.5 (10) | 32.3 (6) | 35.6% |
| 9 | Damian Lillard | 9.4 | 27.4 (11) | 31.1 (13) | 34.3% |
| 10 | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 9.1 | 30.8 (5) | 31.9 (9) | 29.5% |
While Durant is expected to miss at least the next two weeks with an MCL sprain, Brooklyn has another elite pull-up scorer to rely on in Kyrie Irving. In fact, the Nets are the only team with two players ranked in the top 10 in pull-up scoring. Pull-ups account for nearly 40% of Irving’s scoring this season … will that percentage increase (along with his usage rate, which currently ranks 23rd overall) with Durant out of the lineup for the next few weeks?
Finally, let’s cut the top 10 list in half and just focus on the top five pull-up scorers of the season as we make our final connection between pull-up scoring and overall scoring dominance. Three of the top four scoring performances of the season have come from players ranked in the top five in pull-up scoring, with two of those games coming from the only active players to score 70 points in an NBA game and the other coming in the only 60-point, 20-rebound triple-double in league history.
Donovan Mitchell: 71 points
Watch all 71 points of Donovan Mitchell's historic performance.
Game: Cleveland vs. Chicago, Jan. 2, 2023
When we look at Mitchell’s shot dashboard from this game, his frequency and efficiency of pull-up shots stands out. Mitchell shot 10-of-15 (66.7%) on pull-ups vs. Chicago, including 6-of-11 (54.5%) from 3-point range as he was more efficient when creating his own 3-point attempts off the dribble than he was in catch-and-shoot opportunities (1-of-4).
Luka Doncic: 60 points
Luka Doncic went off for a historic triple-double (60 points, 21 rebounds, 10 assists) in the comeback win over the Knicks in overtime.
Game: Dallas vs. New York, Dec. 27, 2022
A look at Doncic’s shot dashboard against the Knicks shows that he nearly hit his season averages on pull-ups: 6-of-13 (46.2%) from the field, including 2-of-6 (33.3%) from 3-point range. But he was even more effective getting close to the basket for his scoring opportunities, shooting 14-of-17 on shots inside 10 feet (including his incredible putback off his own missed free throw to force overtime).
Devin Booker: 58 points
Devin Booker dominates the Pelicans with a 58-point showing.
Game: Phoenix vs. New Orleans, Dec. 17, 2022
In his career, Booker has had two higher scoring nights than this one, but neither of those games saw Booker hit his pull-up jumpers like he did against against the Pelicans. Booker shot 14-of-25 (56.0%) on pull-ups, including 5-of-10 from 3-point range as he led the Suns to a 118-114 win.
