What is effective field goal percentage (eFG%)?
Effective field goal percentage adjusts a shooter's field goal percentage to account for the fact that a made three-pointer is worth three points while a made two-pointer is worth two. Because a three is worth 1.5 times a two, eFG% adds half a made three back into the numerator so that a jump shooter who spaces the floor is not penalized against a player who only shoots inside. It answers the question, "how many points per shot is this player producing relative to what raw FG% suggests?"
The formula
eFG% = (FGM + 0.5 × 3PM) / FGA
- FGM - total field goals made, counting both two-pointers and three-pointers. It does not include free throws.
- 3PM - the number of those makes that were three-pointers.
- FGA - total field goal attempts (twos plus threes). Free-throw attempts are excluded.
The 0.5 × 3PM term is the whole point: each made three adds an extra half-basket of credit, which is exactly the 50% bonus a three has over a two. If a player takes no threes, eFG% equals their ordinary FG%.
Worked example
A guard goes 9-for-18 from the field, and 3 of those makes were three-pointers. Raw FG% is 9/18 = 50.0%. Effective FG% is (9 + 0.5 × 3) / 18 = 10.5 / 18 = 58.3%. The three made threes lifted the shooting efficiency by 8.3 percentage points, which plain FG% would have hidden entirely.
Why it matters and how to read it
- Compare eFG%, not FG%, when one player shoots threes and another does not. A 5-of-10 two-point night (50% eFG) is less efficient than a 4-of-10 all-threes night (60% eFG), even though raw FG% flips the ranking.
- Team eFG% is one of Dean Oliver's "Four Factors" of winning basketball and is the most heavily weighted of the four.
- Modern NBA benchmarks: league-average team eFG% sits around 53-54%. Roughly 50% is average for a shooter, 54%+ is above average, and 60%+ is elite. Rim-running big men who mostly dunk can top 65%.
- eFG% still ignores free throws and turnovers. To capture free-throw scoring too, pair it with true shooting percentage (TS%).