What is a field goal in basketball?

For many people, a field goal is a scoring play in football — a placekicker drilling the ball through the uprights to earn three points.

But field goal is also a basketball term, used for any made basket during normal play. A field goal can be a 2-pointer or a 3-pointer but it's different from a free throw, which comes when play is stopped and is thus not during normal play.

In the box score, you will often see the abbreviations FGM (field goals made), FGA (field goals attempts) and FG% (field goal percentage). Field goal percentage is the percentage of a player or team's shot attempts that were actually made.

Why is it called a field goal in basketball?

The are a mix of answers available on the internet about how this term came to be used in basketball but none appear to be definitive or from particularly authoritative sources. American football predates the invention of basketball by roughly three decades but it's not clear if there is a meaningful reason the same term is used in both sports for very different things.

Who has the most field goals in NBA history?

LeBron James is the NBA's all-time leading scorer but Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the player with the most made field goals in NBA history. Abdul-Jabbar was an interior player who scored mostly around the basket and played before the proliferation of the 3-point shot. James, who has the ninth-most made 3s in NBA history was able to pass Abdul-Jabbar despite making roughly 1,500 fewer field goals at the point at which he broke the scoring record.

Who has missed the most field goals in NBA history?

If you take a lot of shots, you're going to miss a lot. As of this writing, Kobe Bryant has the most missed field goals in NBA history — 14,481 — roughly 600 more than LeBron who is currently No. 2. It seems likely that LeBron will ultimately hold this record before he retires.

The rest of the top-10 list in missed field goals includes John Havlicek, Elvin Hayes, Karl Malone, Dirk Nowitzki, Carmelo Anthony, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan and Vince Carter. You'll notice that list is loaded with NBA legends and historic scorers. Again, if you take a lot of shots, you're going to miss a lot too.