50–40–90 club

Steve Nash achieved the most 50–40–90 seasons in the NBA with four.

The 50–40–90 club is an informal term referring to the group of National Basketball Association (NBA) players who have had a shooting percentage at or above 50% for field goals, 40% for three-pointers, and 90% for free throws during an entire NBA regular season while also achieving the NBA minimum number of makes in each category.^[1] A total of seven players have had 50–40–90 seasons.

50–40–90 indicates a great all-around shooting performance and is considered the ultimate standard for shooters.^[2] Steve Nash has the most 50–40–90 seasons with four, two more than any other player. His lifetime 49–42–90 average is the closest anyone has come to achieving a career 50–40–90 mark.^[3] Stephen Curry is the most recent player to accomplish this feat, during the 2015–16 NBA season.

Members

Since the NBA introduced the three-point field goal in the 1979–80 season, the 50–40–90 shooting threshold has been reached by seven players: Larry Bird, Mark Price, Reggie Miller, Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry.^[2] Nash and Bird are the only players who achieved 50–40–90 in multiple seasons; Bird was the first player to join this club and achieved it twice consecutively while Nash achieved it four times in five seasons. ^[4] Nash narrowly missed five consecutive 50–40–90 seasons by shooting at 89.9% from the free throw line for the 2006–07 season, one made free throw short of the 90% mark.^[5] Curry is the only player to average at least 30 points-per-game (which led the league in scoring) while joining the club in 2016, with Bird narrowly missing the mark at 29.93 ppg in 1988. Nash and Curry are also the only ones to average at least 45% from 3pt range while achieving this feat. Larry Bird is the only player to win a championship while shooting 50-40-90 in the playoffs (minimum 15 points per game). In the 1986 NBA Playoffs, Bird averaged 25.9 points per game, 9.3 rebounds per game, 8.2 assists per game, shooting 51.7% FG, 41.1% 3PT, and 92.7% FT.

José Calderón appears on some 50–40–90 club lists for his 52–43–91 shooting during the 2007–08 season. However, that season he only made 109 free throws (16 short of the NBA league minimum required to be considered a leader in this category).^[6] To qualify as a leader in field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage and free-throw percentage, a player has to make at least 300 field goals, 82 three-point field goals (since the 2013–14 season) and 125 free throws.^[7] These values have been used since the 1999–2000 season except in the lockout-shortened 2011–12 season; requirements varied with the schedule length several times before that.^[8] Steve Kerr has been cited as being the only player to ever record a 50–50–90 in the 1995–96 season;^[9] while he does meet (and indeed exceed, shooting 51–51–93) the corresponding percentage values, he did not meet the minimum requirements for field goals or free throws taken (see table below) for the feat to be recognized officially.^[9] Kyle Korver nearly had a 50–50–90 season for the 2014–15 season; however, he came slightly short in each category (49, 49, 90 after rounding), and did not shoot enough free throws.^[10]

Terminology

Similar to baseball batting averages, official NBA shooting percentages are computed to the third decimal place (thousandths), but is referred to in a "percentage", rather than "permillage" like in baseball. A player who shot .8995 on free throws would be officially computed as shooting .900 and referred to as a 90% shooter, but a player who shot .8994 would not (they would officially be recorded as shooting 89.9%). While the significant number is the same for the two sports, a baseball player with a batting average of .300 is referred to as a "three hundred hitter".

Calculating

In order to calculate basketball shooting percentages to the second decimal place, the official three digit percentages are shortened and rounded to the second decimal point. Thus, a shooting percentage listed as .899 to the third decimal place in the NBA's official shooting statistics is shortened and rounded to "90%" when a two digit number is used to designate the shooting percentage.^[11] Note that shooting statistics throughout rounded to second decimal.

This rounding to the second digit has pertinence regarding several 50–40–90 seasons in that four times a player who did not actually reach the .500 or .900 threshold appeared to shoot 50% and 90%. In the 1985–86 season, Larry Bird officially shot .496–.423–.896, which becomes 50–42–90 when converted to two digit numbers,^[11][12] in the 1990–91 season Jeff Hornacek officially shot .518–.418–.897, which becomes 52–42–90,^[13] in the 2006–07 season Steve Nash shot .532–.455–.899 which converts to 53–46–90,^[5] and in the 2008–09 season José Calderón shot .497–.406–.981 which converts to 50–41–98.^[6]

50–40–90 seasons

Player	Season	GP	FG	FGA	FG%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	PTS	PPG	Ref.
Bird, LarryLarry Bird	1986–87	74	786	1,497	53% (.525)	90	225	40% (.400)	414	455	91% (.910)	2,076	28.05	[12]
Bird, LarryLarry Bird (2)	1987–88	76	881	1,672	53% (.527)	98	237	41% (.414)	415	453	92% (.916)	2,275	29.93	[12]
Price, MarkMark Price	1988–89	75	529	1,006	53% (.526)	93	211	44% (.441)	263	292	90% (.901)	1,414	18.85	[14]
Miller, ReggieReggie Miller	1993–94	79	524	1,042	50% (.503)	123	292	42% (.421)	403	444	91% (.908)	1,574	19.92	[15]
Nash, SteveSteve Nash	2005–06	79	541	1,056	51% (.512)	150	342	44% (.439)	257	279	92% (.921)	1,489	18.85	[5]
Nowitzki, DirkDirk Nowitzki	2006–07	78	673	1,341	50% (.502)	72	173	42% (.416)	498	551	90% (.904)	1,916	24.56	[16]
Nash, SteveSteve Nash (2)	2007–08	81	485	962	50% (.504)	179	381	47% (.470)	222	245	91% (.906)	1,371	16.93	[5]
Nash, SteveSteve Nash (3)	2008–09	74	428	851	50% (.503)	108	246	44% (.439)	196	210	93% (.933)	1,160	15.68	[5]
Nash, SteveSteve Nash (4)	2009–10	81	499	985	51% (.507)	124	291	43% (.426)	211	225	94% (.938)	1,333	16.46	[5]
Durant, KevinKevin Durant	2012–13	81	731	1,433	51% (.510)	139	334	42% (.416)	679	750	91% (.905)	2,280	28.15	[17]
Curry, StephenStephen Curry	2015–16	79	805	1,598	50% (.504)	402	886	45% (.454)	363	400	91% (.908)	2,375	30.06	[18]

50–40–90 after rounding

Some players missed the 50–40–90 mark by finishing slightly under the .500 field goal percentage or .900 free throw percentage, even though they appeared to have 50% and 90% percentage value by virtue of the rounding to the second digit. The following table shows those players who nearly achieved the 50–40–90 (the statistical categories in which they fell short are highlighted and marked with asterisks).

Player	Season	GP	FG	FGA	FG%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	PTS	PPG	Ref.
Bird, LarryLarry Bird	1985–86	82	796	1,606	50% (.496)*	82	194	42% (.423)	441	492	90% (.896)*	2,115	25.79	[12]
Hornacek, JeffJeff Hornacek	1990–91	80	544	1,051	52% (.518)	61	146	42% (.418)	201	224	90% (.897)*	1,350	16.88	[13]
Nash, SteveSteve Nash	2006–07	76	517	971	53% (.532)	156	343	45% (.455)	222	247	90% (.899)*	1,412	18.58	[5]
Calderón, JoséJosé Calderón	2008–09	68	320	644	50% (.497)*	82	202	41% (.406)	151	154	98% (.981)	873	12.84	[6]
Nowitzki, DirkDirk Nowitzki	2013–14	80	633	1,273	50% (.497)*	131	329	40% (.398)*	338	376	90% (.899)*	1,735	21.69	[16]

50–40–90 near misses

Some players missed the 50–40–90 mark by finishing slightly under the .500 field goal percentage, the .400 three-point percentage or the .900 free throw percentage, even after rounding to the second digit. The following table shows those players who came close (within 1 percentage point) to achieving the 50–40–90 (the statistical categories in which they fell short are highlighted and marked with asterisks).

Player	Season	GP	FG	FGA	FG%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	PTS	PPG	Ref.
Macy, KyleKyle Macy	1981–82	82	486	945	51% (.514)	39	100	39% (.390)*	152	169	90% (.899)*	1,163	14.2	[19]
Davis, BradBrad Davis	1984–85	82	310	614	51% (.505)	47	115	41% (.409)	154	193	89% (.888)*	825	10.1	[20]
Scott, ByronByron Scott	1986–87	82	554	1,134	49% (.489)*	65	149	44% (.436)	224	251	89% (.892)*	1,397	17.0	[21]
Barros, DanaDana Barros	1994–95	82	571	1,165	49% (.490)*	197	425	46% (.464)	347	386	90% (.899)*	1,686	20.6	[22]
Nash, SteveSteve Nash	2000–01	70	386	792	49% (.487)*	89	219	41% (.406)	231	258	90% (.895)*	1,092	15.6	[23]
Nash, SteveSteve Nash	2004–05	75	430	857	50% (.502)	94	218	43% (.431)	211	238	89% (.887)*	1,165	15.5	[23]
Szczerbiak, WallyWally Szczerbiak	2005–06	72	493	1,012	49% (.487)*	102	255	40% (.400)	278	310	90% (.897)*	1,366	19.0	[23]
Nash, SteveSteve Nash	2010–11	75	399	811	49% (.492)*	81	205	40% (.395)*	227	249	91% (.912)	1,106	14.7	[23]
Nowitzki, DirkDirk Nowitzki	2010–11	73	610	1,179	52% (.517)	66	168	39% (.393)*	395	443	89% (.892)*	1,681	23.0	[16]
Curry, StephenStephen Curry	2014–15	80	653	1,341	49% (.487)*	286	646	44% (.443)	308	337	91% (.914)	1,900	23.8	[24]
Paul, ChrisChris Paul	2014–15	82	568	1,170	49% (.485)*	139	349	40% (.398)*	289	321	90% (.900)	1,564	19.1	[25]
Korver, KyleKyle Korver	2014–15	75	292	600	49% (.487)*	221	449	49% (.492)	106	118	90% (.898)*	911	12.1	[26]
Durant, KevinKevin Durant	2015–16	72	698	1,381	51% (.505)	186	480	39% (.388)*	447	498	90% (.898)*	2,029	28.2	[27]

50–40–90 criteria misses

Some players missed one of the 50–40–90 club lists above by finishing the season without meeting the needed minimum figures, which have strongly varied over the decades,^[8] to be considered a statistical season leader in the respective category that particular year. The miss can also include one or more "near misses" added to the shortfelt numbers (the statistical categories in which they fell short are highlighted and marked with asterisks). The minimum requirements to be listed are: 50% of the needed made shots in at least 2 of the 3 categories.

Player	Season	GP	FG	FGA	FG%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	PTS	PPG	Ref.
Barros, DanaDana Barros	1990–91	66	154*	311	50% (.495)*	32*	81	40% (.395) *	78*	85	92% (.918)	418	6.9	[22]
Kerr, SteveSteve Kerr	1995–96	82	244*	482	51% (.506)	122	237	51% (.515)	78*	84	93% (.929)	688	8.4	[28]
Elie, MarioMario Elie	1996–97	78	291*	585	50% (.497)*	120	286	42% (.420)	207	231	90% (.896)*	909	11.7	[29]
Ferry, DannyDanny Ferry	1999–2000	63	189*	380	50% (.497)*	33*	75	44% (.440)	52*	57	91% (.912)	463	7.3	[30]
Barry, JonJon Barry	2001–02	82	255*	522	49% (.489)*	121	258	47% (.469)	108*	116	93% (.931)	739	9.0	[31]
Kapono, JasonJason Kapono	2006–07	67	278*	563	49% (.494)*	108	210	51% (.514)	66*	74	89% (.892)*	730	10.9	[32]
Calderón, JoséJosé Calderón	2007–08	82	367	707	52% (.519)	79	184	43% (.429)	109*	120	91% (.908)	922	11.2	[6]
Nash, SteveSteve Nash	2012–13	50	236*	475	50% (.497)*	57	130	44% (.438)	107*	116	92% (.922)	636	12.7	[5]
Korver, KyleKyle Korver	2014–15	75	292*	600	49% (.487)*	221	449	49% (.492)	106*	118	90% (.898)*	911	12.1	[10]

References

Specific

1. Powell, Shaun (October 7, 2010). "All-Shooting Team: Five guys with 'the touch' make the list". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on 12 October 2010. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
2. "The vanguards: Rating Nash amongst the best". canada.com. Postmedia Network Inc. January 3, 2007. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
3. "Player Game Finder". Basketball reference .com.
4. "Spurs In His Side". National Post. National Post Inc. September 17, 2010. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
5. "Steve Nash NBA & ABA Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved October 19, 2010.
6. "José Calderón NBA & ABA Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved October 19, 2010.
7. "Minimum Stats for Leaders". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on 17 November 2010. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
8. "Rate Statistic Requirements". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
9. Ballard, Chris (2009). The Art of the Beautiful Game: The Thinking Fan's Tour of the NBA. Simon and Schuster. p. 37. ISBN 9781439141175.
10. "Kyle Korver NBA & ABA Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
11. Cohen, Richard M., and Neft, David S.: The Sports Encyclopedia: Pro Basketball Edition, St. Martin's Press, 1990.
12. "Larry Bird NBA & ABA Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved October 19, 2010.
13. "Jeff Hornacek NBA & ABA Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
14. "Mark Price NBA & ABA Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved October 19, 2010.
15. "Reggie Miller NBA & ABA Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved October 19, 2010.
16. "Dirk Nowitzki NBA & ABA Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved October 19, 2010.
17. "Kevin Durant NBA & ABA Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
18. "Stephen Curry NBA & ABA Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
19. "Kyle Macy NBA & ABA Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved August 10, 2013.
20. "Brad Davis NBA & ABA Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved August 10, 2013.
21. "Byron Scott NBA & ABA Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved August 10, 2013.
22. "Dana Barros NBA & ABA Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved August 10, 2013.
23. "Wally Szczerbiak NBA & ABA Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved August 10, 2013.
24. "Stephen Curry NBA & ABA Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
25. "Chris Paul NBA & ABA Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 3, 2015.
26. "Kyle Korver NBA & ABA Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 3, 2015.
27. "Kevin Durant NBA & ABA Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
28. "Steve Kerr NBA & ABA Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
29. "Mario Elie NBA & ABA Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
30. "Danny Ferry NBA & ABA Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved August 10, 2013.
31. "Jon Barry NBA & ABA Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved August 10, 2013.
32. "Jason Kapono NBA & ABA Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved August 10, 2013.

General

• "Player Season Finder: For single seasons, in the regular season, from 1979–80, requiring Field Goal Pct >= .495 and 3-Pt Field Goal Pct >= .395 and Free Throw Pct >= .895, sorted by ascending player.". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 6, 2013.