How the league has changed.
League-average per-game volume and shooting efficiency, decade by decade. The shape of the modern game in two charts.
Scoring vs the 2010s
+0.9 PPG
9.8 → 10.7
3P% across all eras
26.4% → 34.8%
1970s (line introduced) → today
League FG% shift
30.3% → 47.1%
1940s → 2020s
Top panel: PPG / RPG / APG. Bottom panel: FG% / 3P% / FT%. Hover any point for the exact decade average.
Decade-by-decade table
Decade summaries →| Decade | PPG | RPG | APG | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940s | 8.1 | — | 1.3 | 30.3% | — | 66.3% |
| 1950s | 9.9 | 5.8 | 2.2 | 37.2% | — | 71.5% |
| 1960s | 11.8 | 6.1 | 2.2 | 42.5% | — | 70.9% |
| 1970s | 10.5 | 4.8 | 2.4 | 45.5% | 26.4% | 74.0% |
| 1980s | 10.5 | 4.2 | 2.5 | 47.5% | 27.8% | 74.1% |
| 1990s | 10.0 | 4.1 | 2.3 | 45.5% | 31.4% | 72.9% |
| 2000s | 9.6 | 4.2 | 2.1 | 44.8% | 33.3% | 73.9% |
| 2010s | 9.8 | 4.1 | 2.2 | 45.3% | 33.9% | 74.7% |
| 2020s | 10.7 | 4.2 | 2.4 | 47.1% | 34.8% | 76.3% |