Listing the only 10 players who have missed 12,000 field goals in NBA history
Efficiency plays a key role in success rates in the NBA. But if you attempt 20 shots every night, even ten missed shots translate to a 50% field-goal efficiency.
Some of the most celebrated names in the game reached heights of success by bludgeoning opponents with their incessant shot-making. Nevertheless, they also missed a staggering number of shots during their careers.
On that note, here's a look at the ten players who have missed at least 12,000 field goals in the NBA. The list includes some of the most lethal scorers to have ever played the game. So without further ado, let's get started:
#1 Kobe Bryant - 14,481
In a regular-season NBA game in November 2002, the LA Lakers faced their eternal rivals the Boston Celtics. The Lakers were thwarted by a slim 98-95 margin. The highest scorer in the game was Kobe Bryant. His 41-point tally came off 47 field-goal attempts.
Kobe Bryant is the only player in the NBA's shot-clock era to outscore the entire opposing team through three quarters. https://t.co/jUnjnIdw0s
Despite missing an unbelievable 30 shots, Black Mamba could still convert 17 field goals and had a perfect shooting spree from the free-throw line.
Bryant holds the record for the most field goals missed by an NBA player. He is the only player to reach the 14000-mark.
#2 John Havlicek - 13,417
A few things about Joker’s triple-double last night:
- It was his third this season, 31st of his career.
- Only one other player in the league has posted a triple-double with these numbers this season.
- He’s now tied with John Havlecik for 12th all-time in triple-doubles. https://t.co/QGfQZw02Wl
Boston Celtics legend John Havlicek was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1984.
Havlicek, a 13-time All-Star, won eight championships while playing for the Boston Celtics. A formidable scorer before the advent of the three-point line, his career average of 20.8 points and 6.3 rebounds is as impressive as it gets.
He is one of a handful of players to have scored over 25,000 points. However, Havelick also missed over 13000 field goals during his career that spanned 1270 games.
#3 Elvin Hayes - 13,296
Elvin Hayes, another Hall of Famer, started his NBA career with the San Diego Rockets. He missed over 13000 field-goal attempts throughout his career.
He played four seasons with the team, including one after the team relocated to Houston and renamed the Houston Rockets. In his rookie NBA campaign, Hayes averaged 28.4 points per game, which is the fifth-best scoring season by a rookie in the history of the league. In fact, he was a scoring champion in his debut year.
For a player averaging such incredible numbers, the number of shots the Rockets legend attempted and missed every night was staggering.
In his first two years in the NBA, Hayes, a one-time NBA champion, averaged 25 field-goal attempts per game. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that on the night of January 19, 1971, the former 12-time All-Star lodged a spectacular 40-shot attempt, missing 27 of them.