By John Rammas/ irammas@eurohoops.net
They may not all be what one would call “classic shooters” but they all make the most of getting the maximum number of points from a shot, as has been the case since 1984, when the three-point line of 6.25 meters was introduced in international basketball, to be subsequently lengthened to 6.75 meters in 2010.
#6 SERGEY MONIA
Khimki Moscow Region | 5.2 pts | 50.0% 3PT
Sergey Monia is one of the oldest players in the EuroLeague (2002-03 was his first season) and with Khimki Moscow Region (2011-present). With 39.2% as his career average in three-point shooting, he’s also one of the oldest friends of the three-point line at 6.75 meters. This season, he’s shooting better than ever before in the competition and almost exclusively from three-point range (2/2 2PT, 16/32 3PT). At 38 years of age, he gets 19:11 minutes of playing time per game from his coach Rimas Kurtinaitis with the hope that his experience and this skill of his will give the team the wins they so desperately need.
#6 ZACH LEDAY
AX Armani Exchange Milan | 10.0 pts | 50.0% 3PT
Zach LeDay is registered as a center, albeit an undersized on. But much of the time he can be found behind the 6.75-meter line. Making threes at a rate of 50.0% this season (16/32), he has every right to be hanging out there. The former player of Olympiacos Piraeus (2018-19) and Zalgiris Kaunas (2019-20) and current player for AX Armani Exchange Milan (2020-present) is shooting with the best percentage of his career and gives his coach, Ettore Messina, an option that not every team has.
#5 MARIUS GRIGONIS
Zalgiris Kaunas | 15.1 pts | 52.6% 3PT
Marius Grigonis has more than enough career highs in his statistics this season. His three-point percentage is another of them. He’s one of the most-improved EuroLeague players on every level, and he has emerged as a leader for Zalgiris. Aside from ranking fifth in three-point accuracy this season, his 52.6% from behind the arc (41/78) is also the 39th best in the history of the EuroLeague, where only 68 (qualified) players have shot above 50% for a full season.
#4 WILLIAM HOWARD
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne | 6.1 pts | 54.5% 3PT
In a rescheduled Round 3 game against Panathinaikos OPAP Athens at home in the the Astroballe on December 1, LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne landed 17 of 24 three-pointers for 70.8% accuracy, the 15th-best performance in the history of the EuroLeague. William Howard made 4 of 4 that night, and in total he has hit 12 of 22. His 54.5% is the best of his entire career as a professional (2009-present) and it places him in fourth place on the relevant list this season. Not bad for a rookie in the competition.
#3 ANTOINE DIOT
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne | 5.4 pts | 55.3% 3PT
Villeurbanne is the team with the fourth-highest efficiency in three-point shooting this season (39.8%) and Antoine Diot has contributed hugely to this. In his fifth season in the EuroLeague, he’s shooting better than ever before in his career. (In 2015, with Strasbourg in the 7DAYS EuroCup, he had reached 50%). Now downing shots from the arc at 55.3% (21/38), third place in the rankings this season and 18th all-time are rightfully Diot’s.