NBA Stats Zone: Play style trends, centers who can pass, three-point attempt rates and more

The NBA Cup has come and gone and Christmas is approaching, so it's as good a time as any to take a look at the key statistical trends and outliers in the 2024/25 NBA season.

Between complaints about too many three-point attempts bringing down ratings to the fact we have more playmaking centers in the league than ever before, there is plenty to sift through when it comes to NBA numbers.

Here, we'll take a look at the most intriguing stats, valid through the morning of December 20th.

Too Many Threes?

How many threes is too many will vary from person to person, but let's start off with the fact that just over 56 percent of the reigning NBA Champion Boston Celtics' shot attempts come from beyond the three-point line.

Plenty of fans have been complaining that the league has taken efficiency to its extreme which has resulted in so many threes being shot, and the Celtics under head coach Joe Mazzulla have been the drivers of this trend.

Boston's three-point attempt rate has risen nine percent over last year's. In 2023/24, 47.1 percent of the team's shots were from three. Now, as mentioned, it's 56.1 percent, but the jury is still out on whether this extreme approach is more effective.

The Celtics had the fifth-highest net rating (+11.6 points per 100 possessions) in NBA history last season. This year, they're third in the league with a +9.5 net rating, behind the Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers.

But it should also be noted that as the Celtics' approach got more extreme, so did the rest of the league's.

Just last year, only 12 teams took more than 40 percent of their shot attempts from three-point range. This year? A total of 20 teams take at least four of every 10 shots from beyond the arc.

Stylistic Similarities and the Few Remaining Mid-Range Artists

That's a lot of threes. But not all three-point attempts are created equal, so let's dive into how teams create their three-point looks and which teams and players are not fully on board with the efficiency trend.

For starters, the Celtics attempt 32.2 catch-and-shoot three-point attempts per game, and 20 NBA teams take at least 25 catch-and-shoot threes per game.

Most teams take between 35 and 40 threes per game in general! That means a large percentage of all shots in a game - over one-third of all shots, for some teams - are catch-and-shoot threes.

The leaguewide average number of catch-and-shoot three-point attempts per game is comparable to the number of shot attempts from within five feet of the basket.

Needless to say, that much repetition of the same skills can get boring for fans.

But a few teams and individual players have not totally abandoned the mid-range shot.

DeMar DeRozan of the Sacramento Kings has made his career there, and his team leads the league with 15.9 shots from between eight and 16 feet, and they're first in the NBA with 8.5 shots per game from between 16 and 24 feet.

By himself, DeRozan takes 9.2 midrange shots per game, almost double that of the player with the second-most. He and Kings point guard De'Aaron Fox often run dribble handoff plays with center Domantas Sabonis (more on him soon), making their offense under head coach Mike Brown unique in today's NBA.

Kevin Durant, aided by his near seven-foot height, also likes to shoot long twos. His team takes the second-most shots from eight to 16 feet out, and he takes the joint-third most mid-range shots with 4.5 per contest.

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid is another mid-range expert, tied with KD at 4.5 shot attempts per game from that area, but he has only played six games so far due to injury. His mid-range jumper makes it easier for him to blow by defenders in the post, as they have to play him close in case he pulls up to shoot.

While few coaches will draw up plays with the goal of getting a mid-range shot, it is good for fans to see there are a few players and teams who are willing to keep defenses on their toes by pulling up to shoot inside the arc, despite the shot's lack of efficiency.

The Golden Age of the Passing Center

While the amount - and style - of three-point attempts can be dull from game to game, there are a few seven-footers around the league who are breaking new ground by being major playmakers for their teams.

Of course, the passing big man has been a thing for decades. Wilt Chamberlain averaged 5+ assists per game in four different seasons in the '60s, Arvydas Sabonis was the most coveted international player for years because of his passing ability, and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has won three NBA MVPs in the past four seasons thanks in major part to his ability to find his teammates.

But Jokic, along with Alperen Sengun of the Houston Rockets and the aforementioned Domantas Sabonis - Arvydas' son - of the Kings, have been the ones to make this a league-wide trend these days.

Quite a few centers and power forwards operate as playmakers from the elbow, and it has proven to be an effective spot for bigs to pass from.

For instance, Jokic, Sabonis, Embiid, Isaiah Hartenstein, Victor Wembanyama, Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo have all gotten assists from at least 20 percent of their touches at the elbow this season, per NBA tracking stats.

And, when it comes to potential assists - passes leading to a shot - per game, there are five power forwards or centers who average at least 10.0: Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Sengun, Draymond Green and Sabonis.

There are six power forwards/centers in the top 50 on the assists leaderboard: Jokic, Sabonis, Antetokounmpo, Green, Sengun and Adebayo.

So, while certain corners of the internet complain about the number of threes or yell about how championship rings are the only things that matters, other fans will realize that there is plenty to like about the product on the floor, with centers who can pass being near the top of that list.

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