The Mid-Range: Basketball's Lost Art

In today’s NBA, the mid-range jumper feels like an endangered species. Everywhere you look, it is either a drive to the rim or a three-point attempt. Teams are built around spacing, layups, and launching from deep. It makes sense if you are looking strictly at analytics. Threes are worth more, and layups are the most efficient shot in basketball. But somewhere along the way, the game lost a bit of its variety. The mid-range game, once a staple of scoring, has almost disappeared from the average player’s toolbox. I miss it. There is something smooth and timeless about a good pull-up from fifteen feet or a controlled fadeaway from the elbow. Not every possession needs to be a dunk or a three-pointer to be beautiful.

Some of the greatest scorers of all time thrived in the mid-range. Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant turned the mid-post into their personal office. They would size up a defender, jab, spin, rise, and release with perfect form. You knew it was coming, and you still could not stop it. Tim Duncan made a living off the glass with that short corner bank shot. Kevin Durant, even in today’s game, is still a mid-range assassin. He can shoot over anyone and does not need to get all the way to the rim to be deadly. DeMar DeRozan has become one of the few modern players who keeps that style alive. Chris Paul has always used the mid-range as a pressure valve, pulling up over bigs in the pick and roll when the defense drops. These players show that the mid-range is not just a shot you settle for. When done right, it is a calculated, deadly weapon.

I understand why the league has evolved the way it has. The math is clear, and threes do open up the floor in ways that help everyone. But the best teams and players always have counters. When defenses chase shooters off the arc or clog the paint, the ability to rise up from the in-between areas is what separates good scorers from great ones. The mid-range game adds balance and rhythm to basketball. It teaches footwork, touch, and patience. It rewards players who take their time and understand space. I hope more young players take the time to study it. Not just for nostalgia, but because it still wins games. It still matters. The mid-range shot is not outdated. It is just underappreciated. And the more I watch the league shift away from it, the more I admire the few players who still treat it like an art form.