The offensive approach to the game brings results, and in the past couple of years, we’ve seen some great shooters with amazing stats. It’s often forgotten that the best shooters also have the most misses.
This article will go over some of the NBA players who have been known for their scores but also had the most misses in the history of the league. For those who bet on the NBA using Solana gambling sites, it’s always possible to make wagers on less sought-after results, such as who will have the most misses. These statistics can help discern which player might be based on how successfully they score otherwise.
Dominique Wilkins – 11,626 Missed Shots
Dominique Wilkins was a huge surprise as a Rookie. He averaged 17 points per game and was named to the All-Rookie Team. Over the course of his career, he averaged more than 21 PPG for 11 seasons in a row. Wilkins is often put on lists of the most underappreciated players, and there’s merit to it given that when one thinks of Atlanta Hawks, Wilkins is the first name to come to mind.
Dominique, an elite scorer with a career average of 24.8 PPG, missed over 11,000 shots from the field in his career, which was over 1,074 games played.
Vince Carter – 12,046 Missed Shots
After years of being overlooked, Vince Carter helped establish the Raptors as one of the most popular NBA franchises because they were based in Toronto. He won the Rookie of the Year Award, scoring 18.3 PPG in his inaugural season. Carter also made 6 All-Star Teams in a row.
After the initial amazing season, Carter also achieved a scoring record of 25.7 PPG, 27.6 PPG, 24.7 PPG, 20.6 PPG, and 22.5 PPG. His NBA career lasted 22 years in total.
Michael Jordan – 12,345 Missed Shots
Michael Jordan finished his career with the highest PPG average of all time by surpassing Wilt Chamberlain. He was a unique kind of player who was an amazing mid-range scorer who could also finish at the rim. In the 90s, Jordan carried the offense night after night, changing the game forever.
The greatest shooter of all time might have had an even better PPG if he hadn’t retired in 1994, 1999, 2000, and 2001. Jordan’s stats as an average for 15 seasons were: 30.1 PPG, 49.7% FG, 32.7% 3-PT FG, 1,072 Games Played.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – 12,470 Missed Shots
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was probably the most dominant center at all times. He started his career with the Milwaukee Bucks by winning an NBA title, but the LA Lakers were his true team. Kareem won two scoring championships in his first three NBA seasons with the Bucks. In the following 11 seasons, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar averaged over 20 points per game.
Over the course of his career, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar took over 28.000 field attempts and had a 55.9% FG, 5.6% 3-PT FG in 1,560 games played.
Carmelo Anthony – 12,524 Missed Shots
Carmelo Anthony has held the score-first, score-second, and score-third player for most of his career. Unsurprisingly, he’s also on our list as a player who missed a lot of shots, as Anthony played over 1200 games during his career.
Anthony played for the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks, and in both teams, he carried the offense basically on his own. Mid-range shorts and three-pointers were always where Anthony shined as a player, and his PPG stats stood at 22.5 PPG, 44.7% FG, and 35.5% 3-PT FG.
Dirk Nowitzki – 12,565 Missed Shots
Dirk Nowitzki is the sixth player in NBA history in terms of all the points scored. This goes to show how effective of a player he was. Nowitzki played over 1500 games, mostly for the Dallas Mavericks, and was especially efficient with three-point shots, where he stands among the top ten shooters of all time. This is especially impressive, given that he’s 7 feet tall.
Dirk Nowitzki’s career in the NBA lasted for 21 years, with an impressive score of 48 percent points from the game and a 38 percent score for three-pointers.
Karl Malone – 12,682 Missed Shots
Karl Malone played in almost 1500 games, meaning he had plenty of time to boost his stats. Playing alongside John Stockton, who was an all-time best assist leader, also helped. At that time, they brought the Utah Jazz as far as the team could go.
Malone is fifth on the list of the players with the most missed shots. Most of those shots came from the mid-range and around the rim, which is where Malone was dominant. In fact, he only tried a total of 310 three-pointers during the course of his whole career. A staggeringly small number that further explains the PPG stats: 25.0 PPG, 51.6% FG, 27.4% 3-PT FG.
LeBron James – 13,282 Missed Shots
LeBron James has had such a long and amazing career that it’s not surprising he’s among the top five players with the most missed shots. He gets most of his shorts in around the rim, where he dominates with athleticism and physical strength. That explains the great stats: 27.1 PPG, 50.5% FG, 34.6% 3-PT FG.
Interestingly, when following this statistic over the years, it became obvious that LeBron James started shooting much more three-pointers as he got older and more confident. At this point, James ranks second in field goals attempted behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Elvin Hayes – 13,296 Missed Shots
Elvin Hayes isn’t a player many would expect at the very top of a list of players with the most misses, but that’s what the stats show. Players who try the most shots usually have the most misses as well. Hayes won an NBA championship, a scoring title, 12 All-Star Teams, and 6 All-NBA Team selections.
Hayes played over 1300 games and made over 24.000 shots from the field. With a PPG of 45.2, this means he made almost 11.000 shots. It’s especially impressive when you take into account that he averaged over 25 PPG for four straight seasons.
John Havlicek – 13,417 Missed Shots
John Havlicek was a Boston Celtics legend, the primary scorer for years, and all that while the team hosted some of the most talented players in history. Havlicek’s career lasted 16 seasons or over 1200 games, with a PPG of 43.9 percent. The stats show FGM – FGA: 10,513 – 23,930
Havlicek is a 6.5-foot small-forward, and most of his scores were made from around the rim, with enough three-pointers mixed in there. The team won 8 championships while Havlicek was in his prime.
Kobe Bryant – 14,481 Missed Shots
Kobe Bryant was the best of all time for a reason – he usually took about 30 shots per game. During his career, this amounts to 26,000 shots from the field and closes 45% of them. It’s fun to consider that this means Bryant missed over 1,000 shots more than John Havlicek.
Bryant’s stats were: 25.0 PPG, 44.7% FG, 32.9% 3-PT FG, 1,346 Games Played, and it led the Lakers to win five championships. As an interesting side note, Bryant once scored 81 points within a single game.