The top teams in the BKT EuroCup are leading a mini revolution in scoring efficiency.
Stats review: High marks for scoring efficiency
Scoring efficiency is up in the BKT EuroCup. While it may only be up marginally from last season, it is nonetheless as high as it has been in over a decade. At the root of that development are the teams and players at the top of the food chain offensively. Paris Basketball and Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv are both on pace to comfortably break the EuroCup record for points scored per-possession while Dreamland Gran Canaria sits only a couple made shots behind the record.
It should come as no surprise, then, that players from those two teams take the top spots on this season's offensive efficiency leaderboards. Through the end of Round 10, Hapoel forward Jaylen Hoard is on pace for one of the most efficient offensive seasons in EuroCup history for a volume scorer. He stands alone among the 48 players who have used over 12 possessions per game so far this season thanks in large part to his 19 dunks and 76% shooting around the rim overall. Thriving in transition, scoring effectively both driving and rolling to the rim, and even making jump shots opportunistically, Hoard has been a revelation in a bigger role this season and a key reason Hapoel remains in the mix at the top of Group A.
Nadir Hifi has been a similarly pleasant surprise for Paris Basketball. In his first season competing on the international stage, the 21-year-old point guard has been dynamic on the offensive end. Scoring at a high level in pick-and-roll situations but thriving off the ball as well, he has converted 52% of his midrange jumpers, 39% of his pull-up three-point attempts, and 54% of his catch-and-shoot threes. His shot-making prowess has been key to Paris's tremendous start.
Hapoel's Xavier Munford has been just as effective as Hifi from the perimeter while Justin Cobbs of Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana remains one of this level's most reliable scorers. The 7bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys duo Deividas Sirvydis and Gediminas Orelik have kept their team competitive amid some defensive struggles, and Tre'Shawn Thurman of Wolves Vilnius has been very effective playing off the ball. Thurman would rank quite towards the top of this list if it weren't for some bad bounces when has tried to finish offensive rebounds.
Thurman has been a valuable secondary option alongside Rasheed Sulaimon, who narrowly missed this list despite playing the largest offensive role in the EuroCup this season. When he comes back from the injury that has kept him out since Round 6, Sulaimon's return could have significant ramifications in Group A.
Like Thurman, Gabriel Olaseni is one of several players from the London Lions within striking distance of the bottom of this list. Matthew Morgan, Conor Morgan, Sam Dekker, and Donte Grantham have all scored more than 1.02 points per possession on over 10 possessions per game.
No matter how teams are looking to get the job done, whether it be through their stars or by committee, the bar is rising in the EuroCup.