The 50/40/90 club is a prestigious group featuring some of the most efficient shooters in NBA history.
To qualify, a player must maintain at least a 50% field goal percentage, 40% from three-point range, and 90% from the free-throw line over an entire regular season. Additionally, they must meet the minimum volume requirements to rank among league leaders: 300 made field goals, 82 made three-pointers, and 125 made free throws.
Achieving these marks together is rare because players who shoot 50% from the field are often big men who typically don’t attempt enough threes, while guards who excel from long range usually don’t reach 50% overall due to the difficulty of shots they take. Only a select few legends have displayed elite efficiency from all shooting zones. Since the three-point line was introduced in 1979-80, just nine players have accomplished this feat.
The Nine NBA Players in the 50-40-90 Club
Larry Bird – 1986-87, 1987-88
Bird achieved the mark consecutively, improving his shooting splits in the second season to 52.7/41.4/91.6. He averaged nearly 30 points and over 9 rebounds per game during both years, with just 90 made threes in 1986-87—reflecting an era before the three-point shot became mainstream.
Mark Price – 1988-89
At 24 years old, Price remains the youngest player to join the club. Playing for Cleveland, he shot 52.6/44.1/90.1 while averaging 18.9 points and 8.4 assists. Known as one of the purest scoring guards, his style has influenced many current NBA stars.
Reggie Miller – 1993-94
Miller barely made the cut with shooting splits of 50.3/42.1/90.8 on nearly 20 points per game for Indiana, marking the closest margin any member has posted.
Steve Nash – 2005-06, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10
Nash stands out by accomplishing this four times, all during his Phoenix Suns tenure. What sets him apart is that he led the offense as the primary playmaker, averaging at least 9.7 assists in each qualifying season, including 11.1 assists in 2007-08.
Dirk Nowitzki – 2006-07
In his MVP year, Nowitzki posted 50.2/41.6/90.4 splits while averaging 24.6 points and 8.9 rebounds. Despite a strong regular season that saw Dallas win 67 games, the Mavericks were upset early in the playoffs.
Kevin Durant – 2012-13, 2022-23
Durant’s two 50-40-90 seasons are a study in contrast: the first was a full 81-game season with high volume in Oklahoma City, while the second came across just 47 games split between Brooklyn and Phoenix, where he set the highest field goal percentage in club history at 56.0%.
Stephen Curry – 2015-16
Curry is the only player to both average 30 points per game and make the list while also leading the league in scoring. His 402 made threes more than doubled anyone else’s total during a qualifying year. He was unanimously named MVP as the Warriors set an NBA record with 73 wins.
Malcolm Brogdon – 2018-19
Unlike the other stars, Brogdon’s 15.6 points per game mark the lowest scoring average in the club’s history, achieving the feat with Milwaukee in 64 games and just surpassing the free-throw minimum.
Kyrie Irving – 2020-21
The most recent member, Irving posted splits of 50.6/40.2/92.2 in 54 games with Brooklyn, scoring 26.9 points per game. His 40.2% three-point shooting is the tiniest margin that cleared the three-point percentage requirement.
Near Misses That Didn’t Count
Steve Nash narrowly missed a fifth entry in 2006-07, finishing with 89.9% free-throw shooting, just one free throw short of the minimum. José Calderón in 2007-08 and Steve Kerr in 1995-96 also had qualifying percentages but failed to meet the free-throw minimum, leaving their seasons unofficial. No players have joined the club in the three seasons following Durant’s most recent entry.
Fan Take:
The rarity and difficulty of joining the 50/40/90 club highlight the incredible skill and efficiency required at the highest level of basketball. Celebrating these players not only honors their incredible talent but also inspires new generations to elevate their shooting precision and overall game, pushing the sport to new heights.
Source: nbaanalysis.net
