Effective Field Goal Percentage (eFG%) Calculator

What is Effective Field Goal Percentage (eFG%)?

Effective Field Goal Percentage is a basketball statistic that measures shooting efficiency while accounting for the fact that a three-point field goal is worth 50% more than a two-point field goal. It was popularised by Dean Oliver, the analyst widely regarded as the father of modern basketball analytics, and is one of his "Four Factors" of basketball success — the four team-level metrics that best predict winning.

Traditional Field Goal Percentage (FG%) was designed for an era before the three-point line existed. It treats every made shot identically, which means a 50% two-point shooter and a 50% three-point shooter appear equally efficient — even though the three-point shooter actually scores 50% more points per made basket. As the three-point shot has become central to modern offence, this flaw in FG% has become impossible to ignore. eFG% fixes it with a single small adjustment: add half a make to the numerator for every three-pointer made.

The result is a metric that lets you fairly compare players with completely different shot profiles — high-volume three-point shooters, post-up scorers, slashing wings, and pick-and-roll big men can all be evaluated on the same scale.

The eFG% Formula: How to Calculate It Manually

The eFG% formula is short but mathematically precise. Two-point makes are counted once; three-point makes are counted as 1.5. The total is divided by all field goal attempts.

Worked example

A player takes 20 shots in a game and makes 10 of them, with 4 of those 10 makes coming from beyond the arc. Their traditional FG% is straightforward, but their eFG% tells a more accurate story:

The 10-point jump from 50% to 60% reflects the extra value of the four three-pointers. In other words: a player shooting 50% on a mix of twos and threes is meaningfully more efficient than one shooting 50% on twos alone.

Step-by-step manual calculation

Step 1. Count total field goals made (FGM) — both two-pointers and three-pointers combined.
Step 2. Count three-pointers made (3PM) separately.
Step 3. Multiply 3PM by 0.5.
Step 4. Add the result of Step 3 to FGM.
Step 5. Divide by total field goal attempts (FGA).
Step 6. Multiply by 100 to express as a percentage.

eFG% vs FG% vs True Shooting Percentage (TS%)

Three shooting efficiency metrics dominate basketball analytics. Each captures slightly different information, and serious player evaluation usually looks at all three together.

FG% is the oldest and simplest, but it systematically undervalues three-point shooters and ignores foul shooting entirely. eFG% fixes the three-point problem and is the standard for evaluating pure field goal shooting. TS% extends eFG% by including free throws, with the 0.44 coefficient on FTA accounting for the fact that not every foul produces two free throws — and-ones, technicals, and end-of-quarter situations all distort the simple FTA-to-possession mapping.

Why use TS% at all if it includes everything? Because some players generate huge value at the free throw line (James Harden, Joel Embiid, prime Kevin Durant) and their eFG% understates their actual scoring efficiency. For complete player evaluation, calculate both.

What is a "Good" Effective Field Goal Percentage?

Benchmark interpretation depends on the level of basketball, but the broad bands below apply across the NBA and high-major college play. The current NBA league-average eFG% has been climbing steadily over the past decade with the three-point revolution and now sits around 53–54%.

Level-specific context

NBA: League average ~54%. Anything above 56% is genuinely good; above 60% is exceptional. NCAA Division I: Average ~51%; over 55% is excellent. High school varsity: Averages vary widely by state and conference, but 50%+ generally indicates a strong scoring season for a regular contributor. WNBA: League average sits around 47–50%, slightly lower than the NBA reflecting different shot profiles.

Common questions

• How do you calculate eFG%?
  Effective Field Goal Percentage is calculated using the formula: eFG% = (FGM + 0.5 × 3PM) ÷ FGA × 100. Take total field goals made, add half the number of three-pointers made, divide by total field goal attempts, then multiply by 100 to get a percentage. Free throws are not included — that metric is True Shooting Percentage (TS%).
• Why do we multiply 3PM by 0.5 in the eFG% formula?
  A three-pointer is worth 1.5 times as many points as a two-pointer (3 vs 2), so it deserves 50% more weight in any efficiency metric. The 0.5 multiplier on 3PM adds back that extra half-point of value that traditional FG% ignores. Without this adjustment, a 40% three-point shooter would appear less efficient than a 50% two-point shooter, even though the three-point shooter actually scores more points per attempt (1.2 vs 1.0).
• What is the difference between eFG% and True Shooting Percentage (TS%)?
  eFG% only accounts for field goal attempts and gives bonus weight to three-pointers. TS% goes further and includes free throws using the formula PTS ÷ (2 × (FGA + 0.44 × FTA)) × 100. The 0.44 coefficient accounts for and-one fouls and technical foul situations. TS% is generally considered the most complete single-number shooting efficiency metric because it captures every point-scoring play, while eFG% is simpler and focuses purely on shot-making from the field.
• What is a good eFG% in basketball?
  Benchmarks vary by level. In the NBA the league average eFG% sits around 53–54%. An individual eFG% below 50% is considered subpar; 50–55% is good and roughly league average; 55–60% is elite, typical of All-Star scorers; and 60%+ is historic territory occupied by efficient finishers like Stephen Curry in his MVP years or rim-running centers like DeAndre Jordan and Tyson Chandler. For high school and college, average eFG% is somewhat lower (~48–50%), so a 55%+ figure at those levels is excellent.
• Can eFG% be over 100%?
  Yes — though only in single games or very small samples. If a player takes only three-pointers and makes 67% or more, their eFG% exceeds 100% because each made shot contributes 1.5 to the numerator. Example: 8-of-10 from beyond the arc gives eFG% = (8 + 0.5 × 8) ÷ 10 = 120%. Over a full season this is functionally impossible because no player is exclusively a three-point shooter, but it does occasionally happen in individual games and is a well-known mathematical quirk of the formula.
• What is the highest eFG% in NBA history?
  For qualified scorers (high-volume shooters), Stephen Curry's 2020–21 season at 63.0% eFG and his 2015–16 unanimous-MVP campaign at 63.0% sit at the top of the all-time list. For all qualified players including big men who only take high-percentage shots at the rim, DeAndre Jordan posted 71.0% eFG in 2014–15 and Tyson Chandler hit 67.9% in 2011–12. Dean Oliver, who introduced eFG% as one of his "Four Factors" of basketball success, considers eFG% the single most important predictor of team winning percentage.