EuroCup standouts: Adam Waczynski

Mar 27, 2020 by Eurocupbasketball.com Print
EuroCup standouts: Adam Waczynski

Adam Waczynski has reached the prime of his career with Spanish powerhouse Unicaja Malaga, for whom he has now played four seasons. At age 31, Waczynski is arguably one of the best three-point specialists in European basketball – and has the numbers to prove it. Even when pulling the trigger from downtown a lot, Waczynski is a career 44.0% three-point shooter in the 7DAYS EuroCup. Indeed, over the last two seasons, Waczynski ranks fourth in three-point shots made with 60, trailing only Jamar Smith (98), Eimantas Bendzius (67) and Aaron Harrison (63).

A lot of factors make Waczynski a great three-point shooter. First, he is not restricted to a particular area on the court: he is equally effective from the corners, the wings and the top of the key. Second, years and years of repetitions have given Waczynski one of the quickest shot releases in Europe. He has great hands to catch the ball in shooting motion and pull the trigger immediately. Third, Waczynski has mastered one of the toughest shots in basketball, the catch-and-shoot three-pointer in transition. Unicaja head coach Luis Casimiro is fully aware of it and it is mandatory for the rest of team to look for Waczynski's shooting options from downtown in fastbreak situations. He has the rare ability to run the floor, get the ball, stop and hit the shot.

All that has made Waczynski instrumental to Unicaja's success since he arrived in Malaga. He helped Unicaja win the EuroCup title in 2017, ranked fifth in three-point accuracy (51 for 103, 49.5%), in the 2017-18 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, and reached the Spanish Copa del Rey final this season. Unicaja is still hoping to have a shot at winning its second EuroCup title, which has been accomplished by just three teams previously. Waczynski would be a critical player in that challenge, the kind of shooter that defenses dare not leave open, lest they get that sinking feeling as he splashes yet another triple through the net.