eFG% and TS%: points per attempt

The question

eFG% and TS% answer the same question:

How many points does a player score per attempt?

First, the one difference between them: what counts as an attempt.

• eFG% counts only shots (field goals).
• TS% counts shots and trips to the free throw line.

For the calculation, both use the same logic: assume 2 points per attempt is a perfect result, then measure how close a player or team gets to it. A player who scores 1 point per attempt on average is at 50% of this "perfect" result.

Why 2 points is the "perfect" result

This choice is arbitrary. No rule of basketball says that 2 points is the best result. We could pick any number.

But there is a good reason for it, and it comes from the game itself. Imagine a team that scores a two every time it tries. What more could you ask for? That team would win almost every game.

So we treat 2 points as the perfect attempt. This makes threes partly a bonus: a made three gives 1 point more than "perfect". It also means the numbers can go above 100%. Two examples:

• A player takes 4 threes and makes all 4: 12 points from 4 attempts. 12 / (2 × 4) = 150%.
• A player takes 10 shots and makes 6 threes and 2 twos: 18 + 4 = 22 points from 10 attempts. 22 / (2 × 10) = 110%.

Words we use

• FGA: field goal attempts, all the twos and threes a player takes.
• Trip to the line: one visit to the free throw line. It can be 1, 2 or 3 free throws.
• Scoring attempt: a shot or a trip to the line. TS% divides by this number. We count every trip from the play-by-play.

An example, step by step

A player takes 10 shots and makes 3 twos and 2 threes. That is 6 + 6 = 12 points from shots.

eFG% = 100 × 12 / (2 × 10) = 60%

The player also goes to the line 2 times and makes 3 of 4 free throws. That makes 15 points and 12 scoring attempts (10 shots + 2 trips).

TS% = 100 × 15 / (2 × 12) = 62.5%

The formulas in general:

eFG% = 100 × points from shots / (2 × FGA)

TS% = 100 × all points / (2 × scoring attempts)

You may also see eFG% written as (FGM + 0.5 × 3FGM) / FGA. It gives the same number.

Why TS% is usually higher

A trip to the line gives more points than a shot. In the 2025-26 Euroleague, for players with at least 200 scoring attempts:

• one shot gave 1.10 points on average;
• one trip to the line gave 1.81 points on average.

TS% adds the trips, so it is higher than eFG% for almost every player.

Only two players were the other way: Matt Costello and Wenyen Gabriel. Both made less than half of their free throws. Their trips gave only 1.00 point each, less than their shots. So for them, TS% is lower than eFG%.

Our idea: skip the percentage

Percentages help when we compare numbers of different sizes. 50 makes of 100 and 3 makes of 6 are both 50%.

Points per attempt doesn't need that. It is already "per attempt", so it is already comparable. To turn it into a percentage, we only divide by 2 and multiply by 100. That step adds no information.

So we like to read both numbers as points per attempt. In the example above:

• 12 points / 10 shots = 1.20 points per shot (eFG% 60);
• 15 points / 12 attempts = 1.25 points per attempt (TS% 62.5).

The numbers stay naturally close to 1, which makes them easy to read:

• more than 1: the player's attempts usually go in;
• less than 1: the player's attempts usually miss.

Here are real players, from the top of the league to the bottom, with both ways side by side:

What the table shows:

• A typical player scores 1.10 points per shot and 1.17 points per attempt.
• The best in the league is 1.43 points per attempt: Nikola Milutinov and Edy Tavares.
• Xavier Rathan-Mayes scores 0.90 per attempt. Only three regular players are below 1.
• Trent Forrest is below 1 per shot (0.96), but above 1 per attempt (1.17). The reason: 86% of Forrest's free throws go in.

One thing to remember: points per attempt is usually higher than points per shot, because of the free throws. 24 regular players are below 1 per shot, but only 3 are below 1 per attempt. So compare points per shot with points per shot, and points per attempt with points per attempt.

Where to find them

Both are in the stats glossary, eFG% and TS%, and on every player's advanced page.