Return of the UniKornet: can Luke Kornet replace Kristaps Porzingis’ shooting?

Celtics fans only familiar with Luke Kornet as an offensive rebounder and iconic close-out artist wouldn’t recognize a young Kornet who entered the league with a skillset reminiscent of a poor man’s Kristaps Porzingis.

The UniKornet left Vanderbilt as the NCAA’s all-time leader in three-pointers by a seven-footer and averaged two blocks per game as a senior. Although he went undrafted, Kornet latched on with the New York Knicks for the 2017-18 season after a strong Summer League performance, looking the part of a 3-and-D center (an archetype just starting to come into vogue at the time).

In 66 appearances over his first two years with the Knicks, Kornet averaged 36% shooting from deep on substantial volume — nearly nine attempts per 36 minutes. (He also has posted excellent block rates his entire career, but we’re not here to discuss Kornet’s defense.)

With Porzingis out for a significant time, we have to ask: can that Kornet come back?

A glance at two shot charts (courtesy of Statmuse) reveals some similarities and some important differences. First, Porzingis’ shot chart from last season:

Then, Kornet’s shot chart from his first two seasons:

Porzingis’ three-pointers are concentrated at the top of the arc, which makes sense. He’s often involved in setting picks for ballhandlers and shooters, and his ability to space the floor as a pick-and-popper is even more valuable at the top than in the corners (as it drags defenders further from the paint).

Kornet’s profile shows a willingness to shoot from the same areas, although he was more effective shooting from the right side of the floor and less effective from straight on. Kornet, understandably less central to the action than Porzingis, was sometimes relegated to the corners — more in line with Al Horford’s profile than Porzingis’. But Kornet has experience launching from wherever the offense needs him.

A look at the way Kornet generated his threes is encouraging. So many “stretch” centers are stationary floor-spacers, magnets placed there to draw defenders and stay out of the way. As you’d expect, Kornet initiated many pick-and-pop actions, just like we see with Porzingis multiple times per game, but there are more creative ways to use him.

KP’s ability to launch on the run is a major part of his effectiveness. Watch this play as Porzingis sets an off-ball screen and then backpedals to the three-point line for a catch-and-shoot opportunity:

Intriguingly, Kornet was used in similar actions, setting pseudo-screens before moonwalking to the arc:

Kornet also showed flashes of being a true movement shooter; the Knicks ran plays for him like he was a stretched-out Buddy Hield. What Kornet lacks in foot speed, he makes up for with length, allowing him to get off shots even while seated in the middle seat of a Southwest flight:

He also displayed astute relocation instincts, hunting attempts by tracing the three-point line without hesitation:

To be clear, Kornet is not Porzingis even without considering KP’s midrange mastery and post-up game. Porzingis’s gift is his ability to launch from way behind the arc, something Kornet only showed glimpses of during his Knicks tenure. And Porzingis was equally effective from both sides, while Kornet preferred the right side.

But there’s potential here. Porzingis’s shooting is a real weapon — and Kornet’s once was, too. Kornet’s sheer volume from those two Knicks seasons is impressive — he fired up shots as if his career depended on it (and at the time, it probably did!). We don’t know if Kornet’s accuracy can maintain after his three-pointer spent years rusting in a moldy backyard shed, but I, for one, would like to find out. Kornet started the first preseason game against the Nuggets in Abu Dhabi and finished with 6 points and three assists. He didn’t take any threes, but proved to be a willing playmaker above the break.

While then-coach Brad Stevens allowed Kornet to try his range during Kornet’s time with Boston in the 2020-21 season, Joe Mazzulla has far preferred him to stay by the basket to take advantage of his excellent offensive rebounding instincts. But Mazzulla also treasures spacing in big men, and he’s currently down one-half of his dynamic duo. With an offseason to reconsider Kornet’s role, will Joe let the UniKornet ride again?