True shooting percentage (TS%) measures points produced per shooting possession using PTS ÷ [2 × (FGA + 0.44 × FTA)], and it beats plain field goal percentage because it folds threes and free throws into one number. Multiply the result by 100 to get a percentage. Think of it as the single stat that answers: how efficiently does this player actually score?
TL;DR:
- TS% ignores turnovers, shot difficulty, and usage volume, so it must be paired with other metrics like usage rate for a full assessment of efficiency.
- Tracking TS% trends alongside video analysis can reveal whether improvements stem from better shot selection or opponent defenses.
- Youth coaches should focus on TS% instead of field goal percentage alone, as it offers a more accurate picture of shot quality and scoring efficiency.
Table of Contents
- How to calculate TS% step by step
- Where to find TS% and trusted calculators
- Benchmarks: what counts as a good TS%
- What TS% shows, and what it misses
- Turning TS% into a coaching and practice plan
- Why we point coaches toward TS% at the youth level
- Get the full picture with Athlo
- Where these numbers and formulas come from
- Sources
- FAQ
How to calculate TS% step by step
Before you can get TS%, you need true shooting attempts, or TSA. That number estimates how many "possessions" a player used up while shooting, including free throws, which don't count as field goal attempts but still cost a possession.
- Calculate TSA: TSA = FGA + 0.44 × FTA. The 0.44 coefficient isn't arbitrary. It's a league-wide estimate that accounts for and-ones, two-shot fouls, and three-shot fouls, since not every trip to the line represents a full extra possession.
- Calculate TS%: TS% = PTS ÷ (2 × TSA), then multiply by 100 to express it as a percentage.
Here's a worked example. Say a player scores 24 points on 18 field goal attempts and 6 free throw attempts. First, TSA = 18 + (0.44 × 6) = 18 + 2.64 = 20.64. Then TS% = 24 ÷ (2 × 20.64) = 24 ÷ 41.28 = .581, or 58.1%.
That's a strong shooting night by any measure. If you're the type who logs your own stats during pickup runs or JV games, our guide on keeping basketball stats without losing your mind walks through tracking FGA, FTA, and points cleanly enough to run this math yourself.
Where to find TS% and trusted calculators
You don't have to do this math by hand every time. A few sources handle it for you, and knowing which one you're looking at matters.
- The NBA Stats glossary publishes the official formula and definitions for every input, straight from the league's own stat department.
- Basketball-Reference's glossary shows the TSA math step by step and hosts searchable season and career leaderboards.
- Basketball-Reference's adjusted shooting tables add TS+, which normalizes TS% against the league average so you can compare a player from one season to a player from a completely different era.
If you want to build your own calculator, a basic spreadsheet only needs three inputs per player: total points, field goal attempts, and free throw attempts. Set up TSA in one cell and TS% in the next, and you can drag the formula down a full roster.
Watch for a few common traps. Per-game stats and season totals aren't always calculated the same way, so mixing them mid-formula throws off your result. Many leaderboards apply a minimum attempts qualifier to keep small sample sizes from skewing the list, which is why a role player who shot 90% on 10 attempts all year won't show up near the top. And rounding differences between sources can shift a published TS% by a tenth of a point, so don't panic if two sites disagree slightly.
Benchmarks: what counts as a good TS%
League averages move every season, so "good" is a moving target. Basketball-Reference's tables show league-average TS% at .562 for 2024-25, a number worth knowing before you judge anyone against it.
A player sitting several points above the league-average TS% in a given season is generally considered an efficient scorer for that year, and the bar shifts as the league's shooting environment changes. (Basketball-Reference)
Recent examples show how differently "elite" can look. In the 2025-26 season, players like Nikola Jokić (.670) and Kevin Durant (.641) posted marks well above average, but they got there through very different shot profiles, one dominating around the rim and the passing lanes, the other stretching the floor with a lethal midrange and three-point mix. On the career leaderboard, Rudy Gobert's .6723 sits near the top of the all-time list, driven almost entirely by high-percentage finishes at the basket rather than jump shooting volume.
That's the catch with TS%: role, shot selection, and era all shape what "good" looks like, so a rim-running center and a high-volume wing shouldn't be graded on the same curve just because their percentages match.
What TS% shows, and what it misses
TS% tells you how efficiently a player converts shooting possessions into points. It does not tell you whether those shots were wide open or heavily contested, and it says nothing about what happens when the ball doesn't go up at all.
- It ignores turnovers entirely, so a player who scores efficiently but coughs up the ball five times a game isn't penalized in this number.
- It doesn't account for usage or volume: a bench player taking six easy shots a game can post a higher TS% than a star carrying the offense on 20 attempts.
- It says nothing about shot difficulty, defensive attention, or who created the look.
Pro Tip: Pair TS% with usage rate before you crown anyone "efficient." High efficiency at high volume is a much bigger deal than high efficiency on a handful of easy looks.
Effective field goal percentage (eFG%) is worth checking alongside TS% too, since it isolates field goal efficiency without free throws mixed in. Turnover rate, minutes played, and shot profile round out the picture. Our piece on plus-minus in basketball covers a similar lesson: no single number tells the whole story, and stacking a few together gets you closer to the truth.
Turning TS% into a coaching and practice plan
TS% is more than a box-score curiosity. It's a diagnostic tool for figuring out exactly where a player is leaking efficiency.
- If TS% is low despite decent FG%, check the free throw rate. A player who avoids contact and settles for jumpers is leaving free points on the table.
- If TS% dips over a stretch of games, pull the shot chart and see whether contested midrange attempts replaced rim finishes or catch-and-shoot threes.
- Track TS% by game segment to spot fatigue patterns, since efficiency often falls in the fourth quarter before anything else does.
Matching a TS% trend to actual film closes the loop. If a player's efficiency climbed over a few weeks, go back and find the clips: better shot selection, more drawn fouls, smarter cuts. Athlo's AI video analysis tool exists for exactly this kind of pairing, letting you line up footage with the stat swings you're seeing in the box score.
Why we point coaches toward TS% at the youth level
Youth and high school coaching often lives and dies by field goal percentage alone, and that's a mistake. TS% forces a more honest conversation about shot selection, because a player who shoots 40% from three and who gets to the line is scoring more efficiently than a 48% two-point shooter who never draws contact.
That's part of why Athlo (Athloapp) surfaces live stats and pairs them with AI video analysis: a coach can spot a TS% shift mid-season and go straight to the film that explains it, instead of guessing. Efficient scoring habits get built through repetition and feedback, not lucky shooting nights.
— Abdulazeez
Get the full picture with Athlo
Reading a box score only gets you halfway. Athlo pairs live stats with AI video analysis so you can watch the possessions behind a rising or falling TS% instead of just staring at a percentage.
| Feature | What it does |
|---|---|
| Live Sports | Tracks real-time scores and box-score stats |
| Team Management | Organizes practice plans and rosters in one place |
Grab Athlo on the App Store or Google Play and start turning your stat sheet into an actual practice plan.
Where these numbers and formulas come from
- NBA Stats Glossary: the league's official TS% formula and input definitions.
- Basketball-Reference Glossary: TSA calculation, worked examples, and career leaderboards.
- 2025-26 Adjusted Shooting Tables: season averages and league-adjusted TS+.
- NBAAnalytic's TS% explainer: practical interpretation and shot-mix examples.
Sources
- NBA Stats - Glossary
- Basketball-Reference glossary and adjusted shooting pages
- 2025-26 NBA Player Stats: Adjusted Shooting · Basketball-Reference
- True Shooting percentage, Explained · NBAAnalytic
FAQ
What is considered a good true shooting percentage?
A TS% several points above the league average for that season is generally viewed as efficient, with the 2024-25 league average sitting at .562. The exact bar for "strong" shifts year to year with league shooting trends.
What was Michael Jordan's true shooting percentage?
Basketball-Reference does not appear in this article's sourced data with a specific figure for Michael Jordan's career TS%, so it isn't publicly listed here. For a precise number, check his player page directly on Basketball-Reference.
What is a good TS%?
There's no single fixed cutoff, since "good" depends on the season's league-average TS% and a player's role. A wing or center finishing efficiently near the rim, like Rudy Gobert's career mark, and a high-volume perimeter scorer can both be considered efficient even though their shot profiles look nothing alike.
What is Kobe Bryant's true shooting percentage?
This article's sourced data doesn't include a specific TS% figure for Kobe Bryant, so it isn't publicly listed here. His full shooting splits and career TS% are available directly on Basketball-Reference.