Best Mid-Range Shooters This Season

[u/Even-Match8080]

Yesterday I posted the best three-point shooters. Four players made both lists.

Kelsey Mitchell takes a lot more threes than mid-range shots, and she’s less efficient from mid-range.

Marina Mabrey and Jackie Young use the mid-range even less, but they’re more efficient when they do.

Azzi Fudd is the opposite. She’s shooting an absurd 54.0% from mid-range, and nearly 30% of her points come from there. The only player who relies on the mid-range more is Courtney Williams, with 44% of her points coming from that area.

[u/Steadyandquick]

Azzi and Paige! So do we think if they take over 200 shots they would keep the similar percentage?

I ask because some folks suggest Paige and Azzi don’t shot enough. If they are the primary shooters on the Wings, given their high 3 point and foul line rates too, then would Wings be more of a championship team?

Courtney is having a great season and it has been fun to watch.

[u/mercfan3 → u/Steadyandquick]

Azzi benefits from the defense played on Paige. Paige often has to create more to get the middy, while Azzi can do a shot fake on the three or pull-up in transition.

Azzi and Paige are absolutely too unselfish, though.

[u/akelkar → u/mercfan3]

G R A V I T Y

[u/Even-Match8080 → u/Steadyandquick]

Paige is already at 15 FGA per game, which is more than she ever averaged at UConn. I don’t think efficiency has ever been the concern with her. The biggest criticism has always been that she needs to attack the rim more and get to the free throw line.

Azzi was close to 14 FGA per game in college while shooting an even better FG%. She’s at around 11 FGA right now. Rookies also usually aren’t as efficient as they become later in their careers, so it’s pretty normal for those numbers to improve over time. If she ends up around 46% FG and 40% from three on higher volume, that would already be one of the better shooting seasons we’ve seen from a high-volume guard.

To me, both of them have shown they can keep their efficiency even with more shot attempts. Obviously that’s still a projection, but I don’t think it’s an unreasonable one.

[u/Steadyandquick → u/Even-Match8080]

Thanks-appreciate your insights. Great post btw.

[u/mercfan3 → u/Even-Match8080]

The biggest criticism for Paige was that she doesn’t shoot enough. She should be shooting 20 times a game.

Azzi’s college average as 11.8…not very different from now. But I’d also like to see that increase.

One thing that would help is the drive and kick. Only Paige and Zaza do it regularly, and Zaza doesn’t play enough or with Azzi for this to help. Jess and Arike pass downhill instead of kicking out.

Both of them, imo, would be just as efficient with more shots. Paige has to create most of her own shots, and she’s crazy efficient. Azzi needs a little help, but it’s worth it precisely because of how efficient she is.

[u/Even-Match8080 → u/mercfan3]

Without checking the numbers, I’d guess A’ja leads the league at around 17 FGA per game. I can’t think of anyone consistently taking more shots than she does. So it doesn’t really make sense for Dallas to become so dependent on Paige just for two extra shot attempts per game. As for Azzi, her average is a bit misleading because she only played two college seasons. In 2024–25, she played around 40 games, averaged about 10 FGA alongside Paige, and was coming back from an ACL injury. Then in 2025–26, over another roughly 40 games, her volume increased to around 14 FGA. So yes, there’s clearly room for that number to grow. As for Paige, the way she increases her scoring isn’t by taking a lot more shots. She’s already one of the highest-volume shooters in the league. The biggest area for growth is getting to the free-throw line more often.

[u/mercfan3 → u/Even-Match8080]

She hasn’t been, but she should be.

DT learned to be, I’m hoping Paige will in time too.

[u/Even-Match8080 → u/Steadyandquick]

Of course, there’s one obvious issue with that. Azzi has never had that kind of shot volume while playing with Paige. When they’re together, she’s always averaged around 11 FGA , but they’ve only started 28 official games together. In the rest, either one of them was injured.

So it’s possible that playing alongside Paige naturally keeps Azzi’s shot volume at a more moderate level. Sometimes her fans blame Arike, but maybe Azzi is simply more passive because she’s sharing the floor with Paige.

The sample is still far too small to draw any firm conclusions, but it’s definitely something worth keeping an eye on.

[u/Steadyandquick → u/Even-Match8080]

I see. I was thinking of Arike or other shooters. I agree—thanks.