NBA Fan Survey: One-on-One Abilities and 3-Point Shooting

With the NBA season in full swing, we decided to see how confident American NBA fans were of their own on-court skills compared to the pros. 

We surveyed more than 2,000 NBA fans in the US to understand their self-perceived abilities on the court. In the research, we asked fans if they thought they could beat an NBA player in a game of one-on-one and how many threes they think they could make in ten attempts in a NBA game.

One-On-One

To the question “Do you think you could beat an NBA player one-on-one?” Most NBA fans across the US were realistic in their assessment of their abilities and their reply. 85% of fans replied “No”. Despite this number encapsulating the vast majority of respondents, it’s baffling to think that 11% of Americans surveyed think they could actually beat an NBA player in a one-on-one. 4% of the survey respondents said they didn’t know either way if they could win a one-on-one matchup.

In North Carolina, a basketball haven, one could have thought NBA fans in the state may have thought of their own games a little more highly in this survey. However, only 7% of North Carolina residents who participated in the survey thought that they had what it takes to beat a pro. The majority of Tar Heel State residents have seemingly made the smart decision to take their chances on North Carolina sports betting, which is set to be legalized this year, instead of getting embarrassed on the court. 

Three Point Sharpshooters

In today’s NBA, being able to shoot the three has never been more important. According to basketball-reference.com, the amount of 3-point field goals per game has gone up from 5.2 in the 2004-05 season to 12.8 last season. Perhaps more telling is the increase in three-point field goals attempted per game, which rose from 15.8 in ‘04-’05 to 34.2 in 2022-23.

We asked the American NBA fans how many three-point throws out of ten attempts they could make in an NBA game, and once again, they did not disappoint. 

Here’s the breakdown of how fans from North Carolina responded to the question: 

A whopping 23% of North Carolina respondents believe that they have what it takes to beat the league average in 3-point shooting percentage. Perhaps the Tar Heel State has the next Steph Curry lurking in the shadows. It’s also interesting to note that only 30% of the fans in North Carolina don’t think they would hit a single three-pointer in a game, despite being guarded by NBA defenders.

If nothing else, this survey has shown us that there is no shortage of confidence in NBA fans across the country, particularly North Carolina.

Methodology 

The research was commissioned by Action Network and carried out by Research Without Barriers (RWB). The survey was conducted between the 20th and 23rd October, 2023.  The sample comprises 2,003 NBA fans across the United States of America.

All research conducted adheres to the Market Research Society (MRS) code of conduct (2023) & ESOMAR. RWB is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office and complies with the DPA (2018).

The raw data can be found here, where you can filter the results based on teams, state, and demographics.