NBA "And One" stats

Still it would be hard to argue against someone who voted for the three-point play, also known as the 'and one' or the 'basket plus the foul'. Often such plays can include several elements from the list mentioned above -- beginning with a great pass, a flat out amazing dribble drive, contact at the rim, an attempted block leading to bodies flying, and ultimately the ball bouncing around and rolling in.

Let's start with the simple question, which NBA players are getting the most "three point play" opportunities?

Who draws the most "and one" fouls

2004-05 Regular Season Most Three Point Play attempts Tm Player FTM FTA Convert PHO  Stoudemire 67 95 .705 MIA  O'Neal 42 93 .452 MIA  Wade 58 73 .795 LAC  Brand 55 69 .797 CLE  James 46 65 .708 WAS  Arenas 40 59 .678 PHI  Iverson 45 57 .789 LAL  Bryant 46 55 .836 ORL  Francis 46 54 .852 HOU  Yao 42 53 .792 DAL  Nowitzki 46 52 .885 MIN  Garnett 41 51 .804 NYK  Marbury 34 50 .680 CHI  Curry 39 46 .848 HOU  McGrady 33 46 .717 TOR  Bosh 33 46 .717 BOS  Pierce 38 45 .844 ORL  Hill 31 42 .738 SAS  Duncan 28 41 .683 DEN  Anthony 31 40 .775 Most Three Point Plays converted Tm Player FTM FTA Convert PHO  Stoudemire 67 95 .705 MIA  Wade 58 73 .795 LAC  Brand 55 69 .797 CLE  James 46 65 .708 LAL  Bryant 46 55 .836

2005-06 Regular Season Most Three Point Play attempts Tm Player FTM FTA Convert CLE  James 79 107 .738 MIA  O'Neal 35 73 .479 BOS  Pierce 56 71 .789 MIA  Wade 56 71 .789 LAC  Brand 51 69 .739 LAL  Bryant 57 68 .838 PHI  Iverson 55 68 .809 WAS  Arenas 57 67 .851 DEN  Anthony 51 66 .773 ORL  Howard 44 66 .667 TOR  Bosh 54 64 .844 SAS  Duncan 36 61 .590 DAL  Nowitzki 51 56 .911 NJN  Jefferson 41 56 .732 NYK  Curry 36 56 .643 HOU  Yao 48 55 .873 NJN  Carter 43 55 .782 MIL  Redd 40 49 .816 MIN  Garnett 39 49 .796 SAS  Parker 34 48 .708 Most Three Point Plays converted Tm Player FTM FTA Convert CLE  James 79 107 .738 LAL  Bryant 57 68 .838 WAS  Arenas 57 67 .851 BOS  Pierce 56 71 .789 MIA  Wade 56 71 .789

So on a raw look it's Phoenix wonderman Amare Stoudemire who comes out on top for most attempted three point plays for the full 04-05 season, but even if Amare had been healthy he probably couldn't have stayed with the new king LeBron James.

Clearly the names represent by and large the public superstars and scoring leaders. Next let's break it down by 'and one' situations per shot attempted.

Percentage of Shot Attempts leading to a Three Point Play opportunity

2004-05 Regular Season 'And One' percentage by shot attempt (FGA + shooting fouls drawn) Tm Player +1 Att AndOne% SEA  Fortson 23 304 7.6% MIA  O'Neal 93 1242 7.5% CHI  Chandler 36 499 7.2% SEA  Evans 22 321 6.9% PHO  Stoudemire 95 1547 6.1% DEN  Nene 26 429 6.1% MIL  Gadzuric 29 491 5.9% CLE  Varejao 13 224 5.8% CHI  Curry 46 800 5.8% LAC  Wilcox 20 355 5.6%

2005-06 Season 'And One' percentage by shot attempt (FGA + shooting fouls drawn) Tm Player +1 Att AndOne% MIA  O'Neal 73 860 8.5% NYK  Curry 56 730 7.7% PHI  Hunter 22 319 6.9% DAL  Harris 29 439 6.6% LAL  Brown 29 443 6.5% ORL  Howard 66 1022 6.5% CHA  Wallace 40 649 6.2% BOS  Perkins 18 294 6.1% BOS  Allen 18 304 5.9% GSW  Diogu 22 375 5.9%

Going to a percentage look changes the rankings considerably, with the true bangers of the league taking center stage. The mammoth Shaq and Eddy Curry are both very hard to stop when they get near the hoop. Still, as this ordering suggests there may be too strong a bias towards guys who play in the post as opposed to being really more adept at finishing after getting hit. So, let's break it down instead by the percentage of shooting fouls drawn that a player makes the shot as well...

Percentage of Made Baskets After a Foul

2004-05 Regular Season Best Finish% After a Foul (Min. 50 Shooting Fouls Drawn) Tm Player +1 Att And1% TOR  Rose 40 87 46.0% LAC  Brand 69 160 43.1% MIL  Gadzuric 29 69 42.0% MIA  E.Jones 22 53 41.5% CHI  Curry 46 117 39.3% ATL  J.Smith 31 79 39.2% TOR  Palacio 21 54 38.9% MIA  O'Neal 93 240 38.8% WAS  Jamison 31 82 37.8% DEN  Nene 26 69 37.7% DAL  Howard 29 77 37.7% SAC  Miller 34 91 37.4% ORL  Hill 42 113 37.2% CHA  Brezec 24 65 36.9% LAL  Odom 38 103 36.9% NOH  Smith 20 56 35.7% CHA  Bogans 22 62 35.5% NYK  Mohammed 23 65 35.4% PHI  Dalembert 18 51 35.3% DEN  Miller 32 91 35.2%

2005-06 Regular Season Best Finish% After a Foul (Min. 50 Shooting Fouls Drawn) Tm Player +1 S.Fouls And1% PHO  Nash 28 50 56.0% MIA  O'Neal 73 133 54.9% POR  Telfair 26 53 49.1% ATL  Johnson 36 78 46.2% DAL  Harris 29 63 46.0% NOK  West 31 68 45.6% SAS  Parker 48 108 44.4% MEM  Miller 23 52 44.2% PHI  Hunter 22 50 44.0% HOU  Yao 55 127 43.3% CLE  James 107 254 42.1% SAC  Thomas 29 69 42.0% MIN  Hassell 26 63 41.3% CHA  Wallace 40 100 40.0% PHO  Diaw 31 78 39.7% CHA  Brezec 29 73 39.7% BOS  Jefferson 20 51 39.2% MIL  Bogut 24 62 38.7% SAC  Wells 24 62 38.7% LAC  Brand 69 180 38.3%

The league as a whole made the basket on 28.2% of shooting fouls in '05-06.

Some guys have a knack for earning the 'and one' free throw. Some players presumably can power their way through a foul to complete the basket, others rely perhaps on great balance and anticipation to take the contact and still get off a good look.

The worst in the league at finishing? In '05-06 that was Sam Cassell who made the shot on only 14.0% of his shooting fouls drawn.

Assisted/Unassisted three point play chances

2004-05 Regular Season Highest assisted 'And One' opportunity% Tm Player AndOnes Ast'd Ast'd% BOS  LaFrentz 26 24 92% DEN  Nene 26 22 85% IND  Foster 18 15 83% PHI  Dalembert 18 15 83% HOU  Yao 53 43 81% POR  Przybilla 21 17 81% DAL  Dampier 20 16 80% NOH  Anderson 20 16 80% MIL  Pachulia 19 15 79% PHO  Marion 28 22 79% Lowest assisted 'And One' opportunity% Tm Player AndOnes Ast'd Ast'd% CHA  Knight 20 1 5% MEM  Watson 18 1 6% SEA  Allen 21 2 10% SAS  Parker 31 3 10% PHI  Iverson 57 6 11% DAL  Terry 15 2 13% Gs/No  Claxton 22 3 14% TOR  Alston 19 3 16% NYK  Marbury 50 8 16% MIA  Wade 73 13 18%

2005-06 Season Highest assisted 'And One' opportunity% Tm Player AndOnes Ast'd Ast'd% PHO  Thomas 10 10 100% DEN  Kleiza 11 10 91% LAC  Wilcox 11 10 91% IND  Pollard 10 9 90% MEM  Wright 17 15 88% SEA  Swift 13 11 85% DEN  Najera 12 10 83% MIL  Smith 11 9 82% MIN  Blount 11 9 82% MIL  Gadzuric 15 12 80% Lowest assisted 'And One' opportunity% Tm Player AndOnes Ast'd Ast'd% MIA  Williams 11 0 0% PHO  Nash 28 1 4% CHA  Knight 22 1 5% NYK  Marbury 36 2 6% GSW  Fisher 17 1 6% GSW  Davis 31 2 6% TOR  James 28 2 7% MIL  Ford 25 2 8% CHA  Felton 24 2 8% DAL  Terry 12 1 8%

So this isn't exactly rocket science, but there's a huge range in how the three point play chances come about. Lots of players rely on getting the feed and going straight up with it under the basket, while the ball handling wizards generally like to beat their man off the dribble and pick up what is frequently a help defense foul on the way to the layup.

Highest/Lowest Conversion Rates

2004-05 Regular Season Highest Conversion rate of 'And One' chances Tm Player FTM FTA Convert NJN  Jefferson 17 17 1.000 POR  Stoudamire 15 15 1.000 DAL  Terry 15 15 1.000 SEA  Allen 20 21 .952 SEA  Daniels 20 22 .909 LAC  Simmons 19 21 .905 NJN  Carter 25 28 .893 SEA  Collison 16 18 .889 DET  Billups 16 18 .889 DAL  Nowitzki 46 52 .885 Lowest Conversion rate of 'And One' chances Tm Player FTM FTA Convert IND  Foster 6 18 .333 DET  B.Wallace 11 30 .367 DAL  Dampier 8 20 .400 MIA  O'Neal 42 93 .452 ATL  Walker 15 32 .469

2005-06 Season Highest Conversion rate of 'And One' chances Tm Player FTM FTA Convert NOK  Brown 16 16 1.000 DEN  Najera 12 12 1.000 DEN  Buckner 11 11 1.000 ORL  Stevenson 25 26 .962 CHI  Hinrich 17 18 .944 POR  Dixon 17 18 .944 LAL  Parker 15 16 .938 PHO  Nash 26 28 .929 CHA  Robinson 13 14 .929 TOR  Peterson 25 27 .926 Lowest Conversion rate of 'And One' chances Tm Player FTM FTA Convert DET  B.Wallace 6 27 .222 SEA  Evans 3 10 .300 GSW  Biedrins 3 10 .300 NYK  Lee 5 15 .333 DET  McDyess 4 12 .333

All right, these are some trivial sample sizes and we don't mean to diss Ben Wallace, but the league as a whole converted 72.7% of 'and one' chances which is only a small amount below the overall league average for all free throws.

Team Totals

2004-05 Regular Season Most "Three Point Play" Opportunities Team FTM FTA Convert MIA 148 238 .622 LAC 158 212 .745 WAS 146 210 .695 CLE 145 201 .721 BOS 147 199 .739 Least "Three Point Play" Opportunities Team FTM FTA Convert NJN 111 136 .816 DET 98 140 .700 POR 109 154 .708 HOU 119 154 .773 NOH 122 163 .753

2005-06 Season Most "Three Point Play" Opportunities Team FTM FTA Convert NYK 178 246 .724 CLE 181 241 .751 MIA 147 229 .642 DEN 175 218 .803 CHA 156 216 .722 Least "Three Point Play" Opportunities Team FTM FTA Convert PHO 105 139 .755 DET 98 151 .649 CHI 107 151 .709 UTA 115 166 .693 MIN 125 171 .731

Maybe the numbers would be more revealing if we looked at the defensive side of the ball, but it's clear at a glance that there's not a lot of connection between 'three point play' chances and winning (it's actually a -.18 correlation over the two year span for those who care).

So in the end, while the three point play is exciting, it's doesn't appear to be particularly significant.

One last area of interest might be which players commit the most fouls leading to 'and one' shots.

43 - Diaw
41 - Josh Smith
40 - Diop
38 - Brad Miller, Brezec, Kaman

That's again an unsatisfying look since big shot blockers are supposed to contest everything underneath. Instead let's look at which players have "shooting fouls commited" that lead to the highest and lowest percentage of 'and one' freebies:

44% - Brian Grant
43% - Jim Jackson
37% - Joe Johnson
36% - Najera
34% - Stevenson
...
15% - Bryant
15% - Head
12% - Petro
12% - Childress
 9% - Shaquille O'Neal

So yes, when Shaq fouls a player, the "victim" can probably consider himself lucky if he can get up off the floor, let alone make the shot!