Antonio Reeves' floater is the most dangerous part of his game: "That's my favorite shot"

Antonio Reeves was in his bag during Kentucky’s most recent outing, an 88-79 road win over Arkansas in the Wildcats’ regular-season finale. The Illinois State transfer was making shots from all over the floor: driving layups, mid-range pull-ups, three-pointers, and plenty of free throws. He finished with a career-high in scoring, dropping 37 points on 12-17 overall shooting and a perfect 11-11 mark from the charity stripe.

This was far from a standalone performance, too. Reeves averaged 15.7 points per game during SEC play — second-most on Kentucky behind First-Team All-SEC member Oscar Tshiebwe — and 22.0 per outing over his last four contests. His efforts down the stretch of the regular season helped Reeves lock up the SEC’s Co-Sixth Man of the Year award.

There wasn’t a defender on Arkansas who could stay in front of Reeves. That’s been the case for most of the season. The senior guard has far too many moves and works too hard to be predictable on offense. While his mid-range and outside jumpers make up the bread and butter of his shot selection, those aren’t the only aspects of his game that make him such a dangerous offensive threat.

Reeves has an unguardable shot at his disposal that he’s been unleashing more and more over the course of the year: the floater.

Reeves has been consistent with his floater this season. It doesn’t matter if he’s sprinting directly at the rim or being knocked off balance while fading to his left or right, his floater (or runner, or push-shot, or whatever you’d like to call it) is always on point. That shot helps make him the definition of a pure scorer: he can score from literally anywhere on the court.

“It’s something I’ve always had, ever since I was a kid. That’s my favorite shot is the floater, I always do that,” Reeves told reporters on Wednesday. “Ever since I was younger I’ve always been good at that and always worked on it. It’s always been in my game.”

Against Arkansas, Reeves canned four shots that would classify as floaters. All of them varied in difficulty but all of them found a way to drop in. When he’s able to get so much air (combined with impressive accuracy) under this variety of shot, it’s nearly impossible for a big man to block. Even when he’s not staring down a seven-footer, Reeves uses his strength to get off floaters against guards stuck to his hip.

Reeves also loves to bust out the floater when he’s coming off screens. Head coach John Calipari has put him in that action often this season, which typically leads to something positive for Kentucky. If Reeves isn’t in a position to rise up for a regular jump shot, sensing that a defender is right on his back, he’ll push the ball off the tips of his fingers — just far enough out of reach for anyone to contest it.

Below are Reeves’ four made floaters from the win over Arkansas. Check out the degree of difficulty on the first one. On the second and fourth shots, he opts for the floater instead of a regular jumper, knowing he needs the extra space in front of him to get the shot off cleanly.

“You cannot defend that,” Tshiebwe said of Reeves’ floater on Wednesday. “Sometimes he just comes in and throws it. You just see it goes in. I said come on man, that’s tough. Some people are gifted just to shoot it, shoot it, shoot it, but he can handle the ball, he can dribble, he can come off the screen and shoot it, attack the rim, float it. He reminds me of TyTy (Washington) last year a little bit, but TyTy has no three-point like him.”

Reeves says having the floater in his bag makes the game of basketball easier. It allows him to work in the lane without having to bang body-on-body for shots at the rim. Again, not even the outstretched arms of a seven-foot shot blocker can bring a well-timed floater back to earth. Former Kentucky Wildcat Immanuel Quickley, who is on the verge of winning the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award, has made a living off the floater in the big leagues.

It’s an efficient shot at all levels of basketball, and Reeves has nearly mastered it.

“It’s just a good shot to have in your game. It just is,” he added.