The Boston Celtics are expected to contend for an NBA championship this season. They currently lead the Cleveland Cavaliers 1-0 in their second-round matchup. Luke Kornet has played a sizeable role in his team’s success this year, operating as the third-string big man in Joe Mazzulla’s rotation.
Despite not being a floor-stretching center, Kornet has found a way to thrive in Mazzulla’s perimeter-based offensive system. His movement, screening, passing, defense and positioning have made him the ideal team-centric big. In a recent edition of ‘The Celtics Chronicle’ podcast, former All-Star big man Roy Hibbert revealed that he’s been showing Richmond’s 7-foot-center Neil Quinn clips of Kornet to help him develop ahead of potentially entering the NBA.
“He asked me, like, ‘Do you think that I can get to do things in the NBA?’” Hibbert said. “I sent him film of Luke Kornet. Just saying, like, literally, you run, you set screens, you have good hands. You know, you move your feet, you can play in this league. This guy is like 6’10, 6’11 kind of athletic, and Kornet can catch lobs and everything like that. [Quinn’s] very physically gifted, but I feel like there is a path to the NBA.”
Kornet, 28, appeared in 63 regular-season games for Boston, averaging 5.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game while shooting 70% from the field and 90.7% from the free-throw line. There are worse things to do than to model your game after him.
Once the Celtics season concludes, the front office will have to decide about Kornet, who will be entering unrestricted free agency. Whatever happens, there’s no denying that he’s proven himself capable of being a role-playing bigman in the NBA.
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