We tell the stories of the most eye-catching and intriguing heat maps and shot charts of the 2024-25 NBA season.
It was referred to as “the avocado” by someone on social media.
But maybe it’s more of a colorful bull’s-eye or a storm with a fierce eye on the radar.
Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert had drawn criticism after totaling 14 points on 4-of-13 shooting in the first four games of the 2025 NBA playoffs before a breakout effort against the Los Angeles Lakers. He finished with 27 points on 12-of-15 shooting to go along with 24 rebounds in a 103-96 win that closed out LeBron James and Luka Doncic in five games.
It’s the only game this postseason in which a player hauled in nine offensive rebounds, and the first in the playoffs since New York Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein had 12 in the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Indiana Pacers on May 14, 2024.
Gobert’s work on the offensive glass led to several dunks and putbacks, and a heat map that revealed the absurdity of a player racking up 27 points on nothing but shots under the basket.
Our heat maps show shots made from the field with the color intensifying from green to yellow to orange to red depending on the frequency of makes from a certain location.
But Gobert’s remarkable close-range barrage isn’t the only aesthetically interesting heat map or shot chart that caught our eye this season. We’ve collected some of the most curious shot-data pictorials from the 2024-25 campaign and told the story behind each of these gems.
Let’s dive in.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks vs. Detroit Pistons (Nov. 13, 2024)
Who says you need to drain 3-pointers to put up a big number?
In November against the Pistons, Antetokounmpo had the only game of 45-plus points while hitting fewer than two 3-pointers (he went 1 of 2 from long range) in the 2024-25 season.
Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies had a 44-point game while going 1 of 4 from deep against the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 14. Giannis easily led the NBA in field goals from 9 feet or closer with 630 (Jokic was second with 553), shooting 67.8% on 929 attempts.
He also paced the league in 2-pointers overall with 779 (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was second with 697). But these two visuals give you a good indication of where Giannis like to operate. He had 87 field goal attempts from one far side of the court and just 29 from the other.
De’Aaron Fox, Sacramento Kings vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (Nov. 15, 2024)
Maybe we should call this one the paw or the bear’s claw.
No matter what you see when you look at this NBA version of the Rorschach test, it shows just how difficult one of the fastest players in the league is to guard when he’s scoring from just about everywhere on the court.
In the front end of a two-game stretch in which he totaled 109 points, Fox scored a career-high 60 while hitting six 3s and going 10 of 11 from the foul line. But just as they did months later when Jokic dropped 61 (more on this later), the Timberwolves managed to win anyway.
On the season, Fox ranked 26th among point guards in made 3s (118) and 15th in the entire NBA with 98 midrange shots made (10 to 16 feet).
Ty Jerome, Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Philadelphia 76ers (Jan. 24, 2025)
Playing for four teams over his first five seasons, Jerome finally found a home during a breakout season in Cleveland. He averaged a career-high 12.5 points while ranking fourth in the league with a 43.9 3-point percentage.
Jerome caught fire against the Sixers in January, hitting all eight of his 3-point attempts on the way to 33 points. Only Stephen Curry hit that many 3s in a game without a miss in 2024-25. Curry’s display took place on Jan. 2 versus the same Philadelphia team, which ranked 29th in the NBA in opponent 3-point percentage.
What’s most impressive about Jerome’s heat map is how it shows he wasn’t just going to his favorite spot – he was hitting 3s from all over the arc.
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors vs. Orlando Magic (Feb. 27, 2025)
Of course, we couldn’t go through this exercise without a Steph Curry heat map. And in February, he lit up the Magic to an NBA season-high 12 3-pointers in 19 attempts and finished with 56 points. It was his NBA-record 26th career game with 10 or more 3s.
Curry, who would have another game with 12 3s against the Memphis Grizzlies on April 1, found the wings particularly to his liking in his game, as is evident on his heat map.
Not visible here is his heave from nearly three-quarter court at the halftime buzzer. Curry led the NBA with 168 field goals from 27 feet or farther in 2024-25, while former teammate Jordan Poole was second with 140.
The two-time MVP shot a ridiculous 38.7% on a league-high 434 attempts from that range.
Payton Pritchard, Boston Celtics vs. Portland Trail Blazers (March 5, 2025)
This was one of the games that stood out as Pritchard earned the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year Award. The Oregon product finished with career highs of 43 points and 10 3-pointers in the 10-point win over the Blazers.
He also shot 14 of 20 from the field, pulled down 10 rebounds, dished out five assists and didn’t commit a single turnover. While Pritchard hit 3s from a few different spots, it’s clear by his heat map that he was most comfortable on the wings.
Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (April 1, 2025)
This is one of those scary weather images. The sirens are going off. The television is blaring a public service announcement to find shelter. If you live anywhere near the front of the basket, run for cover. Hurricane Nikola is coming for you.
On this night, Jokic finished with an NBA season-high 61 points on 18-of-29 shooting but Denver somehow lost 140-139 to the Wolves. This heat map is astonishing in that Jokic made all his shots from in front of the basket, with barely any makes from either side.
It also reveals a lot about the Nuggets offense as the two-time MVP often controls things from the top of the key. He went 6 for 11 from 3-point range, with most of those coming from straight on.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder (2024-25)
Earlier, we referenced how De’Aaron Fox was dangerous from everywhere on the court. But perhaps no player epitomized being a complete threat on offense more than the 2024-25 NBA MVP.
Gilgeous-Alexander was the regular-season scoring champion and is also averaging a league-high 29.8 points in the playoffs among those who have played at least six games. He ranked 15th among NBA point guards with 163 made 3s, shooting a solid 43% from the right wing.
Gilgeous-Alexander also finished second in midrange field goals with 222 (behind only the master of the midrange, DeMar DeRozan, at 231). SGA led all guards with 419 field goals from 9 feet or closer, and his 60.3% was better than big men Karl-Anthony Towns (455; 59.9%) and Alperen Sengun (449; 54.8%).
Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons was second among guards with 405 on 53.4% shooting.
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