Before we jump straight in to the rankings, though, the criteria for this list has to be examined in advance.
Before creating this list, I went through all of the active players on NBA.com and
wrote down the guys who I expected would be top 25 mid-range players in today’s game. Additionally, by
checking out hoopdata.com, I glimpsed the mid-range — 16-23 feet — depth shooting numbers to put some fact behind my opinion. A lot of the obvious players initially were good to stay, but a further look at a few players (I.e. Paul Pierce and his surprising 38 percent on just 2.4 attempts) took them out of compe ion.
Another stat I took in to account was the
amount of shots converted off of assists in that range. This area has added importance because if a player makes a decent amount of his shots off the catch, in rhythm, it shows that the team is willing to run plays through this player because he is talented there. On the reverse side of this is the point guards, like Chris Paul and Steve Nash, who create almost all of their attempts in this region and deserve some credit for their shot creation and selection abilities.
But this list isn’t all about numbers, and that will show. One player is near the top of the list because his numbers are good enough
and he has such a ridiculous repertoire that he uses to make his shots in this area.
In the end, some of the calls were judgment calls but one thing is certain: The guys on this list all have talented mid-range games that help their team win. This forte makes them much more difficult to guard in the grand scheme of things.