Luke Kennard
Memphis Grizzlies

Player Facts

Height: 6'5"
Weight: 206lbs.

Wingspan: 6'5.25"

Date of Birth: June 24, 1996
College Experience: Duke (2 years)

Selections

All Star: 0
All-NBA: 0
All-Defensive: 0

Player Grades

Speed/Explosiveness: 7
Physical Strength: 6
Positional Size: 7
Positional Wingspan: 4
Paint Scoring: 5
Midrange Scoring: 7
Three-Point Scoring: 9
Dribbling: 7
Passing: 7
Perimeter Defense: 5
Interior Defense: 5
Rebounding: 5

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JUMP TO SECTION

> Intro

> Swishing Across the Arc

> Shooting & Attacking Techniques

> Dynamic Off-Ball Sniping

> Cunning Curls

> Playmaking Juice

> Defensive Points

> Impact of His Physical Shortcomings

> Beacon Bacon

>Link to Player Contract & Salary Info

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*All statistical data courtesy of NBA Advanced Stats

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STRENGTHS

Intro

Luke Kennard is a pure shooter who stands at 6'5". The once-Blue Devil has since expanded his game at the NBA level to include some supplementary shot creation. He can distribute a little on-ball too, resulting in a player that provides solid value.

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Swishing Across the Floor

He drills threes from all over the floor with high efficiency. Luke shot 43.2% above the break and 47.8% from the corners in 2020-2021. He shot an impressive 37.1% on pull-up three-pointers that year as well, reliable going right or left. 2021-2022 had him at an even improved 39.6% on pull-up treys.

Luke's ability to rise and fire off the dribble is key to his success on the offensive end. It enables him to be used as an initiator, not just as a finisher on plays. The 6'5" shooter counters drop coverages with pull-up threes and sometimes two's.

Shooting & Attacking Techniques

Kennard simply does his job as a shooter, knocking down open shots that teammates create for him. The lefty marksman has a quick shooting motion with a nice sweep and sway. He's been north of 42% on spot-up triples from 2017-2018 to 2021-2022.

Luke is typically a hop type of shooter so he gets himself right into rhythm as he receives the rock. Similar to Bojan Bogdanovic or Joe Harris, he will take that one-dribble sidestep to elude closeouts. In addition to this, he can capably drive to either side with defenders playing the shot aggressively.

Dynamic Off-Ball Sniping

The Duke product has benefitted from playing next to players that can break down a defense. These have included Derrick Rose, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, and Lou Williams. These kickout opportunities are Kennard's meal ticket and what contributes to such a high overall clip from deep.

Kennard returns the favor to these kickout guys by moving himself to the optimal spot behind the line. He moves in accordance with the defenders and the drive as it's developing. Overall, he finished up 2020-2021 in the 95th percentile for spot-up scoring.

Cunning Curls

His off-ball value continues through his determined route runs. Luke understands off-ball screen usage. The balance Kennard also lines up his steps so that catching-and-shooting is a weapon the moment the ball hits his hands.

Luke can curl into the midrange for a quick two-point jumper or push shot. These are usually taken after a probe dribble or two rather than right off-the-catch. When he does shoot it immediately, it's more than likely an above-the-break triple try.

He gets into the midrange for some pull-ups and step-backs via dribble handoffs as well. Whether it's been Christian Wood, Serge Ibaka, or Ivica Zubac, Luke makes it work with his big man. He scored more points per play in this action across 2019-2020 than guys like Tobias Harris and Brandon Ingram through many step-backs in two-point and three-point land alike.

Playmaking Juice

Luke folds in some pick-and-roll creation to help separate himself from the classic shooter archetype. This grants him some opportunities to play the one on occasion. Kennard's ball skills and vision are pretty impressive out of a deadly shooter.

He's very comfortable passing the ball across his body with a lefty whip pass to shooters. This bodes well for his pick-and-roll chances that give him a lane to drive left.

As he attacks along that strong left side, he can survey the weakside and zip it over to shooters whose defenders vacated. Alternatively, his righty passing is still useful and not a weak spot by any means.

Kennard can even drive-and-dish a little bit. This and his other playmaking avenues culminated in a solid 2.17 assist-to-turnover ratio in 2020-2021, superior to Jamal Murray and Gordon Hayward. All and all, his ability to handle the rock takes a valuable bit of burden off his star teammates and allows them to play off-ball for some possessions.

Defensive Points

Luke Kennard isn't a world-beater on defense but rather can be about average. His size is good, the energy level tends to be there and Luke's positioning on the court is fine too. He also chases hard off-ball and stays in the play following a hit or two on screens - he'll at least pursue his man hard after the pick.

The Ohio native's defensive value is fastened by his point of attack work. The crafty Kennard was in the 90th percentile defending pick-and-roll initiators in his injury-shortened 2019-2020. He was also in the 69th percentile guarding dribble handoff recipients that year. Kennard's also surprisingly effective for his position by rotating down to the rim as a helper.

WEAKNESSES

Impact of His Physical Shortcomings

Luke has some physical limitations as an off-guard. One of these is the fact that his arms are quite short for his height. Moreover, his lateral mobility is just okay and he is not the strongest perimeter player at 206 lbs.

These shortcomings serve to dampen his impact on both ends. Offensively, he can't explode for finishes through or over bigger defenders. His middling first step is also a hindrance as he attempts to beat someone off the bounce.

The inability to get to the basket consistently really hinders his scoring ability and specifically his isolating. He got up only 0.8 shots at the rim per night in 2020-2021. Out of necessity, he took less-efficient peripheral paint shots, midrangers, and contested threes all more frequently.

Luke will get bumped off his spot as a defender. That is one of his larger perimeter defensive problems. An inability to handle larger twos and threes drags down his value here.

Not vertically gifted nor especially explosive, he won't give you many counting stats on defense. Kennard isn't the type of gap defender to shoot into passing lanes and intercept the delivery (sub-1 steal, sub-1 deflection/night in 2020-2021).

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Players Appearing in This Analysis – Check Out Their Profiles
bacon
Beacon Bacon

Luke spent time on Duke Blue Devils teams alongside a bunch of NBA-bound prospects including Jayson Tatum, Brandon Ingram, Harry Giles, and Grayson Allen