Luke Kornet should be in consideration for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award. He won’t win because the qualification rules for the NBA awards have become nonsensical. To qualify for MIP or 6MOY, players must play at least 20 minutes a game to count towards the 65-game minimum.
All bureaucracy aside. Luke Kornet deserves more attention for his development as a basketball player. Luke Kornet’s transformation from finesse stretch big to pick-and-roll maestro who will mash you on the offensive boards has been a treat to watch.
In the 2022-2023 season, in which Kornet started to earn real rotation minutes, my main and unfair criticism of him was that he was not Robert Williams III from a rebounding perspective. I found myself constantly wishing that someone would remind Luke that he is seven-foot-two. Kornet recorded an offensive rebounding percentage of 10.6%, good for 37th in the NBA. Luke followed that up in the 23-24 season with an offensive rebounding percentage of 11.7%, good for 11th in the NBA and a massive jump. Luke took another step in that category this season by turning in an offensive rebounding percentage of 13.4% which puts him at 9th in the league. Luke Kornet turning into a player who consistently generates extra possessions for one of the greatest shooting teams of all time has been a torturous new weapon for opposing teams to endure this season.
We move on to Luke Kornet’s development into a pick-and-roll maestro, and more specifically, the mind-meld Kornet has developed with Jayson Tatum.
Jayson Tatum and Luke Kornet have been the second most effective pick-and-roll duo in the NBA this season, producing 1.33 points per possession. This is behind only Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray at 1.34 points per possession. And the two pairings of Tatum/Kornet and Jokic/Murray are lapping the field. The next closest pairing is Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam, at 1.26 points per possession. Haliburton and Siakam are closer to 10th on this list (1.22 points per possession) than they are to Tatum and Kornet at second.
The chemistry between Jayson Tatum and Luke Kornet is undeniable.
The timing. The symbiosis. It’s beautiful.
When Jayson Tatum and Luke Kornet share the basketball court, great things happen. Kornet and Tatum have shared the court for 866 minutes this season. The Celtics have a 14.82 net rating in those minutes which would put them ahead of the Oklahoma City Thunder for the full season. The unfortunate thing with that elite number is that it’s slightly down from last season. Tatum and Kornet had a 15.64 net rating in their shared minutes last season.
Maybe my favorite part of Luke Kornet’s game is his quick decision-making and processing paired with his high-level passing ability. As Kornet has been given more responsibility, the more comfortable and confident he has become within the Celtics offense. Kornet is averaging 1.22 seconds per touch this season, down from last season, when he was holding onto the ball slightly longer at 1.37 seconds per touch. When Kornet is out there, the ball is typically popping.
The Kornet minutes give the Celtics a different look and feel on offense. When Porzingis is out there, the Celtics are a bit more deliberate in hunting matchups. KP averages 1.64 seconds per touch. This is not a knock on Porzingis. It’s a great thing that the Celtics can play different styles.
Lastly, Luke Kornet’s development as a rim protector. Similar to how I felt about his rebounding back in the 2022-2023 season, I wanted more from Luke as a rim protector. The numbers were still solid for Kornet. Luke allowed opponents to shoot 57.3% on shots within six feet. This season, though, Luke Kornet is allowing a field goal percentage of 51% on shots within six feet. Which ranks 7th among all players in the NBA. Kristaps Porzingis ranks 1st, allowing a field goal percentage of just 48%. The Boston Celtics employ quite the rim-protecting duo.
Luke Kornet can’t technically win Most Improved Player. But we can still appreciate the development arc of Luke Kornet from nearly out of the league to a seven-foot-two rim-protecting, offensive rebounding, quick decision-making machine. Luke Kornet has developed into a high-quality role player who deserves credit for helping the Celtics close in on another 60-win season. Now we pray that the rest of the league didn’t notice this development so we can afford to keep Luke on the roster for years to come.
