SAN FRANCISCO — A new shot-chart analysis released Tuesday found that an NBA scorer’s preferred shooting zone is less a specific area of the court than “wherever the defender isn’t.”
Researchers expected to identify a favorite elbow, corner, wing, or midrange pocket but instead found the strongest pattern was simply open space.
“He appears to prefer shots where nobody is directly in front of him,” said one analyst. “This tendency is remarkably consistent across the floor.”
The chart showed high efficiency on uncontested threes, open pull-ups, transition layups, and several possessions where defenders became confused by screening action.
Efficiency declined sharply when a 6-foot-8 professional athlete placed a hand near the ball, a result researchers called statistically significant and visually unsurprising.
Coaches said the data supports continued efforts to create separation, spacing, and defensive mistakes, concepts previously known only as offense.
The study’s next phase will examine whether dunks are easier when the rim is nearby.
