August 24, 2011 – Allen Moll

When you think of finishers, usually the first thing that comes to mind is dunks. But according to the definitive authority on NBA stats, a site called Hoopdata, the true definition of finishing means attempting and making a shot attempt from within 0 to 3 feet of the rim.

If you’re a stat geek like myself, Hoopdata is an endless source of purely useless knowledge. But for the purposes of this article, I’ve stumbled onto some pretty useful statistics that will help us determine just who is the NBA’s best finisher from the 2010-2011 season.

Prior to sorting through the endless amount of data, if someone had asked me who I thought was the league’s best finisher, based purely on converting dunk attempts and layups, I would have answered either Dwight Howard of Blake Griffin. I figured that they would be safe bets to be at or near the top of the list just because of the sheer number of dunks they convert.

There I go thinking again. Bad writer. Contrary to popular opinion, Howard or Griffin are not the league’s best finisher. That crown belongs to Kevin Durant, the “Durantula.” Howard finished a close 2nd, even though he had nearly double the amount of attempts, while Griffin amazingly ranks 33rd. I guess Sportscenter only shows us all of Griffin’s makes?

I was also surprised to see Kevin Garnett (3rd), Al Horford (4th), and Thaddeus Young (9th) finishing in the Top Ten and conversely seeing high flyers like Dwyane Wade (41st), Rudy Gay (45th), and Michael Beasley (48th) near the end of the Top 50. Proving you don’t need out of this world athleticism or stand nearly 7 feet tall to rank near the top, Paul Pierce (22nd) and Andre Miller (39th) both cracked the Top 40 best finishers as well. Conspicuously absent from the Top 50 were Kobe Bryant and reigning NBA MVP Derrick Rose.

Be sure to check out the site, as you can sort through any number of stats like who was most efficient from 3 to 9 feet, 16 through 23 feet, and even who was most efficient on just three point shots taken. Not surprisingly, Ray Allen led all players by connecting on 66% of assisted 3 point shots taken among all starting players.

NBA’s Top 20 Finishers with minimum of 100 makes(# of makes, %):

1) Kevin Durant 217 77.2%

2) Dwight Howard 411 75.4%

3) Kevin Garnett 179 74.3%

4) Al Horford 178 74.2%

5) Wilson Chandler 161 73.9%

6) Andrew Bynum 160 73.7%

7) DeAndre Jordan 205 73.7%

8) Serge Ibaka 187 73.6%

9) Thaddeus Young 309 73.4%

10) Tyson Chandler 217 72.8%

11) Andre Iguodala 151 72.6%

12) LeBron James 339 72.1%

13) Shaquille O’Neal 122 71.8%

14) Tim Duncan 167 71.7%

15) Nene 318 71.5%

16) Kenyon Martin 119 71.3%

17) Shawn Marion 230 70.8%

18) Lamar Odom 265 70.5%

19) Marc Gasol 179 70.5%

20) Chris Wilcox 142 70.3%

Check out Kevin Durant’s Top 10 Dunks of the ‘10-’11 Season:

Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen also provides content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.