Could even the worst NBA player score 20 points if they shot as much as Kobe?

[Faptastrophe]

Today on Twitter I made the following assertion:

Take any random NBA player. Give them the green flag to shoot 20-30
shots a game. Not one turns it down and most will get 20+ PPG.

— Dre (@NerdNumbers) October 9, 2012

Being a wise person, @jon_e_nichols actually asked for proof on the subject. Of course, it’s unlikely that I’ll get most NBA teams to just start handing out 20-30 shots to every random player. But let’s have a fun thought experiment. Using 500 minutes as a cutoff, I went searching for some bad players. Last season the player with the worst TS% was Shawne Williams with 37.2%. If we then looked for the player with the worst free throws vs. field goal attempts we get Mike Miller with 2%. Putting the two together we have a fun formula:

[FONT="Georgia"][True Shooting Percentage] = [Points] / (2 * ([FGA] + 0.44 * [FTA]))[/FONT]

or, with concrete numbers

[FONT="Georgia"]0.372 = 20 / (2 * (X + 0.44 * 0.02 X))[/FONT]

Fun right? I’ll break it down. That’s actually the break down for True Shooting percentage. I’m solving for X. Here’s the breakdown. If a player had the worst shooting in the league (0.372 on the left) and got to the line the lowest in the league (the 0.02 on the right) then how many shots (X) would that player need to get to score 20 points. The answer? 26.6!

So there you have it. If a player can take 26.6 shots at the worst shooting rate in the league without ever getting to the line…they can still break 20 points per game! This is a formula another player figured out…

-Dre

Source.

[mattvNJ]

name the people u consider the worst players, play that scenario over in your head and you'll have your answer. No... mid-range and poor players yes, worst absolutely not.

[SyRyanYang]

Do you know some players only job is to defend?
Better put it this way: pick the best player from D-league and I'm sure he can score over 20

[red1]

Ben wallace couldn't score 20 points if you give him 200k and tell him meagan good will sukk his dikk. So no

[Heavincent]

Obviously not.

[Colbertnation64]

The guy that runs that twitter account has admitted that he doesn't even watch any games until the playoffs because he doesn't have cable. I couldn't care less about what he has to say about anything related to basketball.

[BlackVVaves]

Kobe's career average is 25 PPG on 45% shooting.

OP, how many guards/wing players in NBA history have a career average scoring as many or more points than Bryant on as good or better effeciency?

Edit: And has played in the NBA for at least 8 years.

[Legends66NBA7]

So Iverson had no place being considered an All-Star, All-NBA or MVP caliber player and even the worst NBA player can score 20 if you give them that many shots, huh ?

Well, whoever this Dre guy is, I shall put him on a list of people that I won't ever take his words seriously.

Oh, and he doesn't watch games come playoff time either ? Also more reasons to laugh and not take this guy serious.

[Colbertnation64]

So Iverson had no place being considered an All-Star, All-NBA or MVP caliber player and even the worst NBA player can score 20 if you give them that many shots, huh ?

Well, whoever this Dre guy is, I shall put him on a list of people that I won't ever take his words seriously.

Oh, and he doesn't watch games come playoff time either ? Also more reasons to laugh and not take this guy serious.

Found his exact tweet

https://twitter.com/NerdNumbers/stat...71892875239426

"I don't watch the games on a regular basis because I don't have cable. I'll wager I read more stats than 95% of fans."


How can anyone take that seriously?

[BlackVVaves]

So Iverson had no place being considered an All-Star, All-NBA or MVP caliber player and even the worst NBA player can score 20 if you give them that many shots, huh ?

Well, whoever this Dre guy is, I shall put him on a list of people that I won't ever take his words seriously.

Oh, and he doesn't watch games come playoff time either ? Also more reasons to laugh and not take this guy serious.

The logic behind that kind of inquiry is just

This Dre guy sounds like a joke. Shame on the OP for bringing this troll-esque reasoning to ISH. We have enough empty heads around here as it is.

[Heavincent]

You know what, this is one of the dumbest threads I have ever seen. kobe is one of the best scorers of all time, and you're telling me the worst player in the NBA could shoot the same amount of times as him and put up about the same production as a result?

That's beyond stupid. Is this is a joke thread or something?

[Legends66NBA7]

Found his exact tweet

https://twitter.com/NerdNumbers/stat...71892875239426

"I don't watch the games on a regular basis because I don't have cable. I'll wager I read more stats than 95% of fans."


How can anyone take that seriously?

The funniest part is, that I wager people who watch games on a regular basis might be have a knack for keeping the stats in their brain while watching and if not can check on them later... which is even more important because you can tell who actually had more impact on game by watching over reading a box score, because sometimes box score stats can be misleading.

Also, if he "reads more stats that 95% of fans", how the hell can't he not afford to stream games on his computer ? Or watch games of his phone ? I don't like fans like that who watch stats first and base a conclusion out of that, because now we get this talk about how Iverson isn't an all-time great and his accolades are phony. Call him overrated, fine. But it ticks me off how much these volume scores get shit on by over zealous stat watching fans.

He should also make another statment of stats, that if the worst NBA player took 40 shots a game, they could score 50ppg like Wilt.

[jlip]

Don't know why it was necessary to include Kobe's name in the title, but on any given night probably 99% of the players in the league could score 20 points if they were given the opportunity to shoot at will. Now could the same number of players average 20ppg for a full 82 game season if given the green light to shoot? I'd say, No, but the % would still be high (i.e. 70ish%). My estimates are not scientific, but hopefully the point is clear.

I do think that points scored and ability to score are not necessarily the same though. IMO, if you take two all star caliber players who shoot roughly the same%, and one averages 25ppg while the other averages 30ppg the difference is rarely ability. It's the willingness to shoot.

[LT Ice Cream]

Yeah, totally. I'd put my money on Reggie Evans being able do it.

[Legends66NBA7]

I'm reading more about these tweets and check this out:

https://twitter.com/MIA_Heat_Index/s...77283720245248

Yet, he's telling another dude on twitter to bet on it.