Raw field goal percentage tells you how often a player's shot drops, but it says nothing about the value of each shot or whether free throws contributed to the scoring line. True Shooting % (TS%) fills that gap by combining every scoring method — 2-pointers, 3-pointers, and free throws — into a single efficiency number.

Why TS% beats raw FG%

A player who shoots 50% on 20 attempts (10 made) looks identical to a player who shoots 50% on 20 attempts — but if one of them hit five three-pointers and the other hit none, they scored very different totals. TS% accounts for this by weighting three-pointers implicitly through points in the numerator and by adding free throw volume to the denominator. A player who draws free throws constantly is harder to guard and generates more points per possession than their FG% suggests.

How the 0.44 constant works

The NBA charges one possession for every field goal attempt. Free throws are trickier: a two-shot foul uses roughly half a possession each, a three-shot foul uses a third, and and-one free throws use nearly none (the possession was already charged to the made basket). Averaging across all FTA types gives approximately 0.44 possessions per free throw attempt — the constant embedded in the TS% denominator. This is the same figure used by Basketball-Reference, the NBA, and every major analytics platform.

NBA benchmarks and context

The NBA-wide TS% hovers around 57–58% in recent seasons. Elite shooters (Steph Curry, Kevin Durant) regularly post TS% above 62%. Below 50% is uncommon for rotation players and usually signals poor shot selection or a slump. Use TS% alongside volume stats: a 65% TS% on three attempts is less meaningful than a 62% TS% on 20 attempts. The Effective FG% (eFG%) shown alongside TS% isolates shot quality without free throws, making it useful for comparing non-free-throw shooters to each other.