Boston Celtics shot profile: where the points come from
The Boston Celtics of 2025–26 are a different animal than the championship team that lifted Banner 18 just eighteen months ago. Jayson Tatum is sidelined with an Achilles injury, and a roster overhaul stripped away Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, and Al Horford. What remains is a leaner, faster team built around Jaylen Brown, and a shot profile that has quietly evolved into one of the most distinctive in the NBA.
So where exactly do Boston’s points come from this season? The answer involves a lot of threes, a surprising embrace of the mid-range, and a paint attack led almost entirely by Brown’s slashing game.
The Three-Point Foundation
Boston’s identity as a three-point-centric offense did not disappear with the roster turnover. The Celtics are still averaging 44.2 three-point attempts per game this season, second in the NBA, trailing only the Cleveland Cavaliers. That volume is a direct descendant of the system Joe Mazzulla has run since taking over the head coaching job. Under his watch, the Celtics have consistently led or ranked near the top of the league in three-point rate, and 2025–26 is no exception.
The efficiency, however, tells a more complicated story. Boston is converting just 34.7 percent of those attempts, which ranks 19th in the league. That gap between volume and efficiency is the central tension of their offense — they live by the three, and on cold nights, they die by it too.
| Category | Celtics 2025–26 | NBA Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 3PA per game | 44.2 | 2nd |
| 3P% | 34.7% | 19th |
| Mid-range attempts per game | 14.0 | 1st |
| Opp. FG% | 43.4% | 2nd |
The Midrange Revival
Here is where the 2025–26 Celtics diverge sharply from their recent predecessors. For years, the mid-range jumper was practically banned in Boston, a shot reserved for desperation or a lapse in shot selection. Not anymore. The Celtics lead the entire NBA with 14 mid-range attempts per game, a number that reflects a deliberate philosophical shift as much as Brown’s personal evolution as a scorer.
Brown has been the engine of this change. He is averaging six mid-range field goal attempts per game, the most of any player in the league, and converting them at 52.2 percent, the second-best rate among players who take at least 2.5 per game. His quote on the subject says it all: “I’ve been literally told not to [take mid-range shots]. Now it’s like, ‘Jaylen, you can take whatever shot you want.'”
The mid-range revival is, at least in part, a tactical response to Tatum’s absence. Without a second star who can draw attention in isolation, Boston leans into the spaces defenses open up — and Brown has turned those windows into buckets at an elite clip.
Paint Points and Brown’s Drive Game
Brown is not just a jump shooter this season. He is averaging 17.3 drives per game — up dramatically from 12.7 in 2024–25 — and scoring 12.8 points on those drives at 58.0 percent shooting. His rim shot creation ranks in the 100th percentile league-wide, per Basketball Index. That athleticism at the basket forms the base layer of the Celtics’ scoring structure: Brown attacks the paint, forces contact or finishes through it, and the rest of Boston’s offense spaces around his drives.
| Player | PPG | FG% | 3P% | Drives/Game | Mid-range FGA/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaylen Brown | 29.3 | 50.6% | 37.0% | 17.3 | 6.0 |
| Derrick White | 15.9 | 35.9% | 30.5% | — | — |
| Anfernee Simons | ~18–20* | — | — | — | — |
*Simons stats approximate based on available mid-season reporting. Sources: NBA.com, ESPN, HardwoodHoudini
Supporting Cast Contributions
Brown carries a heavy load, but he is not doing it alone. Derrick White, a crafty off-ball scorer and three-point specialist, has been inconsistent from the field — shooting just 35.9 percent overall and 30.5 percent from three. That said, he has shown signs of life lately, posting 17.7 points per game over a recent seven-game stretch with improved efficiency. Payton Pritchard, the Celtics’ sixth-man scorer and one of the NBA’s more reliable three-point shooters, continues to add volume from the bench. Anfernee Simons, acquired before the season, gives Boston an additional off-the-dribble scoring threat who can both pull up for threes and get into the paint.
What the Shot Profile Tells Us
The 2025–26 Celtics’ scoring map reads like this: a heavy reliance on the three-ball with middling efficiency, an NBA-leading commitment to mid-range jumpers driven almost entirely by Brown, and a paint attack rooted in his drives. Free throws fill in the margins. It is an offense built around one elite creator making difficult shots look routine, surrounded by shooters who need to find more consistency.
| Shot Zone | Est. % of FGA | Efficiency | Key Contributor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Three-Point Range | ~47–50% | 34.7% (3P%) | White, Simons, Pritchard |
| Mid-Range | ~17–20% | ~50%+ (Brown) | Brown (primary), White |
| Paint / At Rim | ~30–35% | ~58% (drives) | Brown, Queta |
The bottom line: Boston remains a three-point-heavy team with a new mid-range wrinkle and a superstar who has evolved into the most complete scorer in a Celtics uniform since Paul Pierce. When Brown is locked in — and lately, he has been — the shot profile works. When the threes go cold and Brown is contained, the Celtics have fewer answers. The team is 35–19 heading into the All-Star break, outperforming early expectations. The shot profile is a big reason why.
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