Field Goal % / eFG% Calculator
Calculate basketball field goal percentage and effective field goal percentage (weighted for 3-pointers)
Field Goal % / eFG% Calculator
Calculate basketball field goal percentage and effective field goal percentage (weighted for 3-pointers)
What Is Field Goal % and Effective Field Goal %?
Field goal percentage (FG%) measures shooting efficiency from the field — all 2-point and 3-point attempts combined, excluding free throws — calculated as total makes divided by total attempts. It is the most basic shot-efficiency stat in basketball, but it has one well-known flaw: it treats a made 3-pointer exactly the same as a made 2-pointer, even though the 3-pointer is worth 50% more.
Effective field goal percentage (eFG%) corrects for that by giving 3-pointers extra weight in the calculation, so a player who scores efficiently from beyond the arc isn't penalized for having a "lower" raw shooting percentage than a player who only shoots high-percentage shots close to the basket. eFG% is the more accurate measure of true scoring efficiency whenever 3-point shots are part of the mix.
How to Use This Calculator
eFG% Benchmarks
- • 58%+: Elite — highly efficient scorer
- • 54–57%: Very good — above league average
- • 50–53%: Average — around league norms
- • 45–49%: Below average
- • Under 45%: Poor — inefficient shot selection or form
Why eFG% Changed How Teams Value Shot Selection
Before eFG% became standard, raw FG% quietly punished high-volume 3-point shooters in efficiency conversations even when they were scoring more points per shot than a "more efficient" mid-range shooter — a 33% 3-point shooter and a 50% 2-point shooter produce the exact same point total per shot attempt, but raw FG% makes the mid-range shooter look far more efficient.
That correction is a big part of why modern offenses have shifted so heavily toward three-pointers and shots at the rim, and away from long two-pointers: once eFG% (and its cousin, true shooting percentage) became the standard efficiency lens, long twos were exposed as the least efficient shot on the floor — worse than a well-shot three despite the lower degree of difficulty.
?Frequently Asked Questions
A made 3-pointer is worth 50% more than a made 2-pointer (3 points vs 2), so eFG% multiplies 3-point makes by 1.5 before dividing by total attempts — this puts both shot types on the same points-per-attempt scale, making the percentage a fair measure of true scoring efficiency regardless of shot mix.
NBA league average eFG% is typically around 53–54%. Elite, high-efficiency scorers (especially catch-and-shoot 3-point specialists and rim-finishing bigs) can post eFG% above 58–60%. Below 48% generally signals inefficient shot selection, poor shooting form, or a heavy diet of contested/low-percentage looks.
eFG% only accounts for field goals (2s and 3s). True shooting percentage goes a step further and also factors in free throws, since players who draw fouls and convert free throws efficiently are scoring points without needing to make a field goal at all. eFG% is the field-goal-only efficiency stat; TS% is the fuller picture including free throw scoring.
Yes, always — eFG% is mathematically always greater than or equal to raw FG% for any player who makes at least one 3-pointer, because the 1.5x weighting only adds value, never subtracts it. The gap between the two numbers tells you how much of a player's shooting value came from 3-point makes specifically.
No — eFG% is strictly a field-goal-only stat, covering only 2-point and 3-point attempts from the floor. It ignores free throws entirely (that's what true shooting percentage is for) and doesn't account for turnovers, which is why it's usually paired with other stats like usage rate or turnover percentage for a fuller efficiency picture.
Centers typically post high eFG% because most of their shots are high-percentage looks near the rim (dunks, layups, put-backs), while guards who take more contested mid-range and perimeter shots tend to post lower eFG% despite often being better overall offensive weapons — which is exactly why eFG% is read alongside shot-location data rather than as a standalone ranking of who the better shooter is.
Rarely, once you run the eFG% math: a 45% mid-range two-point shooter scores 0.90 points per attempt, while a 33% three-point shooter (a below-average clip) scores 0.99 points per attempt on the exact same number of shots. This is the core insight eFG% exposed and is the main statistical driver behind the modern NBA's shift away from long twos toward threes and shots at the rim.
A pure catch-and-shoot 3-point specialist commonly posts a lower raw FG% (many of their attempts are the harder 3-pointer) but a high eFG%, because nearly every made shot gets the 1.5x weighting. It's common to see such a player at ~42% FG% but ~58%+ eFG% — a large gap that signals most of their scoring value comes from beyond the arc.