According to NBA.com during the 2018-19 season, here is how many dribbles were taken after the player catches the ball prior to shooting:
0 Dribbles – 44.1% of shots
1 Dribble – 13.1% of shots
2 Dribbles – 12.1% of shots
Nearly 70% of their shots come with two or fewer dribbles.
And….
Here are some additional analytics from NBA.com for the 2018-19 season.
This is how many points they scored per shot based on the number of dribbles they took.
0 Dribbles – 1.16 Points Per Shot
1 Dribble – 1.02 Points Per Shot
2 Dribbles – .95 Points Per Shot
3-6 Dribbles -.94 Points Per Shot
7+ Dribbles – .93 Points Per Shot
Think about that…..
Not only do shots with fewer dribbles (about 2 or less) tend to happen often during games, they are also more effective!