How Detroit Pistons’ Luke Kennard Stacks Up with JJ Redick and Kyle Korver

The Smooth Jumper

If there is one thing that Korver is known for, it’s that sweet jump shot. Coming into the league, Korver was known for his jumper, and throughout his career he has developed into one of the deadliest spot-up shooters in the NBA.

In his rookie season in Philadelphia, Korver shot a meager 35 percent from the field as whole, but an impressive 39 percent from behind the 3-point line. While his overall field goal percentage left a lot to be desired, that 3-point percentage was truly impressive for a rookie at the time.

Compare these numbers with Luke Kennard, who shot 42 percent from three his rookie year and 40 percent in his sophomore campaign, and you can see how he already stacks up to Korver in this regard. Korver’s jumper is legendary, and Kennard could possibly be on his way there as well.

Creating Space

This one goes hand in hand with that electric 3-point shooting. With his ability to knock down the three at such a high rate (43 percent for his career), Korver was a master at creating space on the floor for his teammates to work.

His defenders couldn’t leave his side to play help defense, leaving more room and less defensive attention for his teammates to do their work. Korver’s floor presence and spacing is crucial to good offense and ball movement, and if the defense ever did collapse down to help, he would be there to knock down the shot.

With the way that Kennard shot in his first two seasons, you better believe that defenders are hesitant to leave his side. The extra space that he creates from being such a prolific outside shooter leaves room for players like Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond to work their magic inside the arc, as well as allows play makers like Reggie Jackson and Derrick Rose to get inside and create. Korver has been using his lethal shot to create room for his teammates for years, and Kennard is already doing the same.

How Luke Can be Better

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While these two players are very similar in more than one way, Kennard has the potential to be more of a scorer than Korver has ever been. Along with that jump shot, Kennard has shown flashes of being really skilled off the dribble, which is something that Korver has never necessarily excelled at.

Kennard is already more than just a spot-up shooter, and that is a skill set that will continue to grow and improve for him as he matures in the league.

Kennard is able to take his defender off the dribble and create his own shot, as well as use crafty moves to work his way to the rim. His offensive repertoire is, arguably, already more diverse than that of Korver’s, and he’s got nowhere to go but up from here. Kennard may never put up the gaudy 3-point numbers like Korver, but he’ll definitely find ways to get the ball in the hoop, that’s for sure.