Stats review: A salute to the EuroCup's best at making floaters

Those who have shot the most floaters have also made them at a well-above-average rate

Three teams eclipsed the 100-point mark in Round 7 of the BKT EuroCup with Hapoel Midtown Jerusalem guard Cassius Winston leading all scorers with 35 points to help his team to an explosive 110-93 win over Neptunas Klaipeda. In between a barrage of jumpers, Winston tossed in all 4 of the floaters he attempted — one of the higher single-game totals of the last several years.

A mere 6% of all field goal attempts in the EuroCup are floaters, making them only slightly more common than dunks as they hold a somewhat unique place in the hierarchy of shot types at this level. Not only do some players not have floaters in their arsenal at all — only around half of all players have attempted one this season — there is a divide between the players who take them often as a last resort to finish over length and those who actively seek them out when they look to drive.

The table above lists the top 10 players in floaters made this season. The divide in efficiency is represented even when looking at this small of a group. The top five players in made floaters have converted 56% of their attempts — well above the league average of 43%. The top 35 players are shooting a combined 50% as the drop off in efficiency can be traced to the 34% shooting from the 79 players who have attempted 4 or fewer floaters this season.

For the top players on this list, runners make them especially dangerous in certain actions and against certain defenses. Grant Golden, for example, tosses in 14-footers in short roll situations and when pulling the ball out of dribble hand-offs before help defenders can even react as often as almost any player in the sport. With floaters making up almost half of his shot attempts, his ability to get in spots to use them is a big part of his game.

Winston, in contrast, punishes deep drop coverage when operating out of pick-and-rolls with floaters all the way out to the elbow, looking more comfortable running into those shots than stopping and rising into pull-up jumpers from the same distances.

DeVante Jones has had a bit more variety to his floaters as a great deal of his makes have come with a defender on his hip. Though floaters are an answer to different situations for many players, they are a last resort for others. Around 19% of all floaters come in the last 4 seconds of the shot or game clock and those attempts drop only 37% of the time.

With the league average for pull-up two-point attempts currently sitting at 39%, floaters are a dramatically more reliable shot for the players in the EuroCup who have them in their arsenal and it's worth acknowledging the players who have mastered that art.