Ariel Maughan

Ariel Leishman Maughan (April 26, 1923 – August 4, 1997) 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. After his career in basketball he worked as a salesman.

Maughan's great-great grandfather was Peter Maughan, a Mormon pioneer who settled the Cache Valley in Utah while working with LDS founder Joseph Smith.

BAA/NBA career statistics Legend GP Games played FG% Field-goal percentage FT% Free-throw percentage RPG Rebounds per game APG Assists per game PPG Points per game Bold Career high

Regular season Year Team GP FG% FT% RPG APG PPG 1946–47 Detroit 59 .241 .737 – 1.0 9.0 1947–48 Providence 14 .242 .688 – .1 3.9 1947–48 St. Louis 28 .327 .568 – .1 4.6 1948–49 St. Louis 55 .317 .646 – 1.8 10.8 1949–50 St. Louis 68 .279 .766 – 1.5 7.0 1950–51 Washington 35 .312 .797 4.0 1.4 7.3Career 259 .280 .712 4.0 1.2 7.9

Playoffs Year Team GP FG% FT% RPG APG PPG 1948 St. Louis 7 .262 .696 – .1 11.4 1949 St. Louis 2 .000 .667 – 1.5 1.0Career 9 .250 .692 – .4 9.1