Points in the Paint
The points a team scores from inside the paint, the area under and around the basket, per game.
What Points in the Paint measures
The paint is the best place to score. Shots at the rim go in at 60 to 70%, far above anywhere else. Points in the paint tell you how much of an offense comes from dominating the interior, through post play, pick-and-roll finishes, cuts and drives. Teams that score heavily inside are taking the most efficient shots there are. Teams that cannot are either shooting over a set defense or living entirely on the perimeter.
How Points in the Paint is calculated
PITP = Points scored on field goals taken inside the paint, free throws excluded
The catch
A high number can be bad shot selection
A team forcing contested pull-ups from inside the arc, not at the rim but from 10 to 15 feet, still piles up paint points while shooting inefficiently. The stat counts all paint scoring the same. Read it next to how efficient that interior scoring actually is.
Pace inflates it
A fast team scores more paint points simply by playing more possessions. A slow team with a dominant big can score fewer a game but more per possession. Compare it with pace and per-possession numbers in mind.
Seen in a game
Olympiacos in 2025–26 paired Nikola Milutinov's interior work with Sasha Vezenkov's shooting to build a balanced attack. Milutinov led the league in offensive rebounds and was a constant threat inside, finishing 68.2% of his twos. Because opponents had to send help to the paint to deal with him, the floor opened up for Vezenkov's league-leading scoring, 18.8 a game. Interior and perimeter are not opposites. The best offenses use the threat inside to unlock the shot outside.
Common questions
- What are points in the paint?
Points in the paint are the points a team scores from inside the painted area near the basket, the highest-percentage real estate on the floor.
- How are points in the paint counted?
Baskets made in the painted key, from layups, dunks, post moves and drives, count as points in the paint. Free throws and shots outside the paint do not.
- Why do points in the paint matter?
Shots at the rim are the most efficient in basketball. A team that scores heavily in the paint is getting easy looks, and it often bends the defense enough to open up outside shooters too.
