The forgotten art of the mid-range game and its comeback in modern NBA

Published 2026-03-17

The Resurrection of the Mid-Range: A Shot Worth Sinking

Remember when the mid-range jumper was as fashionable as dial-up internet? Coaches across the league, drunk on analytics, preached the gospel of threes and dunks. Anything in between was heresy, an inefficient relic of a bygone era. For years, the mid-range shot was relegated to the dusty corners of NBA playbooks, a forgotten art. But something’s shifting, and the beautiful, often deadly, mid-range game is staging a quiet, yet impactful, comeback. The numbers don't lie. While the league-wide average for mid-range attempts (defined as shots between 10 feet and the three-point line) is still lower than its peak in the early 2000s, there’s a noticeable uptick among the league’s elite. In the 2020-21 season, the league averaged 18.9 mid-range attempts per game. Last season, that number crept up to 20.1. It might not seem like a seismic shift, but in a league obsessed with marginal gains, it’s a significant trend. Why the sudden appreciation for a shot once deemed anathema? Blame, or rather credit, the undeniable genius of players like Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. These aren't just good shooters; they're *master* mid-range assassins. Durant, for instance, shot an absurd 53.6% from mid-range in the 2022-23 season, a figure that would make most three-point specialists blush. He pulls up, rises over defenders, and splashes jumpers with a nonchalance that borders on disrespectful. Booker, meanwhile, embodies the old-school ethos with new-school athleticism. His footwork is sublime, his release quick, and his ability to create space for that 15-footer is unparalleled. When the Suns were making their Finals run, how many times did Booker bail them out of a stalled possession with a perfectly executed mid-range pull-up? Too many to count. The modern NBA, for all its love of pace and space, has also become incredibly adept at defending the rim and the three-point line. Defenses are designed to funnel drivers into shot-blockers or close out hard on perimeter shooters. This leaves a crucial, often exploitable, void in the middle of the floor – a sweet spot for those with the skill and confidence to operate there. Think about it: forcing a defender to commit to a pick-and-roll, then stepping back for a clean 18-footer is a high-percentage shot for a truly gifted scorer. It breaks the rhythm of the defense, forces individual accountability, and often leads to easy buckets when the defense is scrambling to recover. It's not just about efficiency; it's about variety, about keeping defenses honest. The rise of players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who averaged 2.5 mid-range makes per game last season (a top-10 mark in the league), further underscores this shift. SGA isn't just a slasher; he's developed a devastating mid-range game that complements his ability to get to the rim. It makes him virtually unguardable in one-on-one situations. The league is slowly realizing that a balanced offensive attack, one that can punish defenses from all three levels, is more potent than a purely analytical one. The mid-range isn't dead; it was merely dormant, waiting for a new generation of artisans to revive its beauty and effectiveness. **Bold prediction: Within the next five seasons, at least three of the top five MVP candidates will average over 45% from mid-range, signaling a definitive return to offensive versatility.**