How Basketball Scoring Works: Inside the 3 Ways to Score

The sport of basketball can be a high-scoring affair. Teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) exceed 100 points per game on a regular basis, and top programs in the National Collegiate Athletic Administration (NCAA) routinely eclipse 80 points in a game. While scores can rise to triple digits on any given night, it takes dozens of successful field goals to win a single game.

From high school to the NBA, basketball players of all levels have three primary ways to score points:

1. 1. Field goals: In the game of basketball, a field goal refers to any basket a player scores during regular game play, from inside the arc that designates the three-point line on the court. A standard field goal refers to any regulation shot a player attempts from inside the three-point line. Field goals can take the form of jump shots, layups, slam dunks, and tip-ins. While these shots vary in difficulty, the number of points per shot remains the same: they are always worth two points. Active players who specialize in two-point field goals include LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Jimmy Butler. Past field goal specialists include Michael Jordan, Kevin Garnett, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Larry Bird.
2. 2. Three-point field goals: Three-point field goals are better known as 3-pointers. To score three points on a field goal, a player must shoot from behind the arc on the court known as the three-point line without touching the line with their foot. The referees can trigger an instant review of a three-point play if they are unable to determine whether a player’s foot was on the line during the act of shooting. Officials may also use instant review to determine if a player should receive two or three free throws for a shooting foul. Famed three-point shooters from both the NBA regular season and NBA playoffs include Stephen Curry, Kyle Korver, and Ray Allen.
3. 3. Free throws: A referee awards a free throw, or foul shot, to a player after they are fouled in the act of shooting by a defender on the opposing team. A free throw is an unguarded shot taken from the free throw line. Each free throw is worth one point. Any personal foul that a player incurs during the act of shooting results in either two or three free throws, depending on whether the player was attempting a two-point field goal or a three-point field goal when the foul occurred. Among active NBA players, James Harden has notably built his reputation as a free throw specialist. Other famous free throw shooters include Kobe Bryant, Moses Malone, and Karl Malone, who holds the record for most career points from the free throw line.

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