Points in the Paint
The number of points a team scores from inside the paint — the rectangular area directly under and around the basket — per game or per 100 possessions.
The paint is the highest-percentage scoring zone in basketball. Shots at the rim convert at 60–70%, far above any other area of the floor. PITP tells you how much of a team's offense comes from dominating the interior — through post play, pick-and-roll finishes, cuts, and drives. Teams that score heavily in the paint are generating the most efficient shots available. Teams that can't score there are either shooting over a well-organised defense or relying entirely on perimeter shooting to survive.
Benchmarks
- League average: ~26–28 points per game in the paint
- Good: above 30
- Elite: above 34
In 2025–26, teams with dominant big men continued to thrive inside. Olympiacos led the league in 2FG% at 59.7%, with Nikola Milutinov again anchoring their interior attack — his 3.1 offensive rebounds per game topped all players. Crvena Zvezda and Valencia Basket combined elite offensive rebounding (13.3 and 13.0 per game respectively) with high-volume interior scoring to rank among the league's most dangerous paint teams.
Olympiacos in 2025–26 combined Nikola Milutinov's elite interior presence with Sasha Vezenkov's perimeter scoring to create a balanced attack. Milutinov led EuroLeague in offensive rebounds per game and was a constant threat in the paint — his ability to catch, finish, and draw fouls meant that opponents had to commit defenders to the paint, opening space for Vezenkov's league-leading 19.2 points per game and 5.0 defensive rebounds. PITP and perimeter scoring are not opposites — the best offenses use interior threat to unlock exterior opportunity.
Tensions
A team forcing contested mid-range pull-ups inside the paint — not at the rim, but from 10–15 feet — will accumulate PITP while shooting inefficiently. PITP counts all paint scoring equally regardless of shot quality. Always check points per paint attempt alongside total paint points to understand whether the interior game is actually efficient.
A fast-paced team will accumulate more PITP simply because they play more possessions. A slow team with dominant interior play might score fewer paint points per game but more per possession. Always contextualise PITP with pace and per-possession figures for fair comparisons across different teams.
Formula
PITP = Total points scored on field goal attempts taken from inside the paint area (excluding free throws)
