The sharp shooter has plenty more coming his way.
Six seasons.
302 games.
1,677 points and counting from deep.
1,402 points and counting for the LA Clippers.
The league’s finest long-range sniper has surpassed the 3,000 career points mark.
Congrats, @LukeKennard5 on 3,000 career-points! pic.twitter.com/UICBXsivJ9
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) October 29, 2022
And Luke Kennard is already eyeing his 4,000th point. The Duke product led the league in three-point percentage last season, sinking in 44.9 percent of his looks from downtown — he’s a career 42.6 percent three-point shooter.
‘Cool Hand Luke’ hasn’t quite cooled off from last season’s run: five games into the season, he is shooting an extraordinary 50 percent from behind the arc. While there’s no telling if he maintains this efficiency as the season progresses, but we can be certain of one thing: Kennard is still the prolific shooter that charmed us Clippers fans last year.
Kennard’s contributions did take a toll this season, though. With the return of Kawhi Leonard and the new acquisition of former All-Star John Wall, there are not as many opportunities for Kennard to hit the hardwood and take over — not to mention, the team’s 2022-2023 campaign marks the first full season with fellow sharpshooters Norman Powell and Robert Covington.
But Kennard’s shooting prowess is still much-needed.
It’s always been a reliable means to start runs from the bench and overwhelm teams from deep. Remember when Kennard scored seven points in nine seconds to complete a historic 35-point comeback against the Washington Wizards?
We said once and we’ll say it again, the Comeback Clips!
The Clippers 35 PT comeback is tied for the 2nd-largest in NBA history since 1996-97. This is the largest comeback in franchise history. pic.twitter.com/NFGqJsWxou
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) January 26, 2022
And especially this season, the Clippers are desperate for efficient three-point shooting.
As a team, they are shooting a meager 32.4 percent from three-point range (fourth-worst in league). Similarly, they are averaging just 9.2 three-pointers made, second worst behind their long-time rivals the Los Angeles Lakers.
It’s clear one of the many things that are holding this star-stacked team back is their poor three-point shooting. And one of the many solutions is to turn to the wizardly Kennard and his three-point magic.