Ariel Maughan

Ariel Leishman Maughan was an American professional basketball player. Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Maughan attended Utah State University and started his professional career in the Basketball Association of America (BAA), the National Basketball Association's (NBA) predecessor, in 1946. His career lasted five seasons and he played for four teams. Most of his points came from under the basket, although he received the nickname "Ace" for his shooting ability. However, despite the nickname, Maughan put up the worst shooting season in terms of field goal percentage by a qualified player in BAA/NBA history in the 1946–1947 season, making only 24.1% of his field goal attempts (224–929). It is not surprising that the record comes from one of the earliest seasons in BAA/NBA history, as early-mid 20th-century basketball players shot at a much lower rate compared to modern-day basketball players; the 25 lowest shooting percentage seasons by a player in BAA/NBA history all came between 1946 and 1950. In the 1948–1949 season, Maughan shot 31.7% from the field, good for 67th-worst in NBA history.