After the Oklahoma City Thunder captured their first historic franchise title — if you don’t count the one from the Seattle SuperSonics — on the wings of the incredible Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, fans and analysts finally got what they were waiting for. SGA, as the team’s number one option, absolutely dominated the entire season from the mid-range to the point where that shot slowly started to become relevant again.
After the last decade of the pace-and-space era, largely ushered in by the Golden State Warriors, where the mantra was that a three-point shot will always be worth more than a long two, the mid-range, along with post play, is slowly coming back into fashion.
SGA definitely brought the belief back when it comes to the mid-range
If Nikola Jokic, after winning the title with the Denver Nuggets, started to restore faith that you can still win with an old-school big man playing with his back to the basket, then SGA definitely brought that same belief back when it comes to the mid-range.
One of the best — if not the best — who has dominated from the mid-range for the last 15 years like few others in league history is Kevin Durant. KD recently chimed in on the debate about whether the mid-range is a good shot on his X profile.
Analytics drove the league to the point where mid-range almost went extinct
This can also be seen as a subtle shot at NBA team analysts who have practically turned basketball into math, to the point where role players know precisely how many threes they’re “allowed” to take per game based on their percentages.
The mid-range is definitely a good shot if you have players like Durant or Gilgeous-Alexander on your team. The problem is that analytics drove the league to the point where that shot almost went extinct, which had a domino effect on younger generations who don’t even have it in their repertoire anymore. Another believer in the idea that the mid-range is making a comeback is Andre Iguodala.
“It’s coming back,” Iguodala said on Point Forward. “You talk about Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander), he’ll put you on a block as well, (Anthony Edwards), he’ll put you on a block as well. It’s coming back. (Jayson Tatum), obviously, his block work. Luka (Doncic), obviously, his block work. I really feel like it’s gonna come back, that mid-range is gonna come back.”
As long as you have players on the level of KD, the mid-range will always be the best shot
We’ve witnessed that every 15 years or so, the narratives in the league change. Ten years ago, the belief was that we’d never again see old-school centers like in the 90s because everything revolved around small-ball lineups with centers who can switch everything, only for Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid to lead one of the greatest MVP races we’ve ever seen over three straight seasons.
Likewise, about five years ago, most were convinced that the mid-range had completely disappeared and that once Chris Paul, Kyrie Irving and Durant retired, it would be gone for good. Then SGA arrived and completely changed the narrative.
The truth at the end of the day is this: no matter what analytics say, as long as you have players on the level of KD or SGA, the mid-range will always be the best possible shot on the floor.