When the Celtics visited the New York Knicks on Feb. 8, Luke Kornet delivered one of his best games as a pro:
Fourteen points, 12 rebounds, five offensive boards, one assist, one steal, three blocks, 7-for-7 shooting in a 131-104 Boston rout at Madison Square Garden.
The banner performance underscored just how far Kornet had come since he began his NBA career with the Knicks in 2017 — a career that’s featured stints with five NBA franchises and two G League teams. It also was a sign of things to come for the 7-foot-2 center, who’s been one of Boston’s most reliably productive players in the second half of this season.
“He’s unbelievable,” guard Derrick White said after Kornet grabbed a career-high nine offensive rebounds Sunday in a 124-90 win over Washington. “Just seems to always be in the right place. He just kind of makes the game easy for everybody, and if there is a miss, I know big Luke’s down there, most likely, to get a hand on it or something’s going to happen. He’s been unbelievable for us all year, and I’m happy for him.”
After briefly falling behind Neemias Queta in Joe Mazzulla’s big man rotation early in the season, Kornet has reemerged as a multifaceted frontcourt asset for Boston. He excels on the offensive glass (he ranks fourth in offensive rebounds per 36 minutes among all NBA players with at least 1,200 minutes played), provides solid rim protection (1.8 blocks per 36), and has utilized his court vision, strong sense of positioning and elite screening ability to become a true pick-and-roll weapon. He also passes well for his size and is one of the league’s most efficient shooters, with nearly all of his attempts coming at or near the rim.
As of late March, pick-and-rolls involving Kornet and Jayson Tatum produced the second-most points per possession of any NBA duo this season, just behind Denver’s Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, per data compiled by Owen Phillips of The F5. Tatum raved about Kornet’s impact during a recent sitdown with NBC Sports Boston analyst Brian Scalabrine.
“Luke may not get enough credit from the outside of what he brings to our team, but he’s an exceptional screener,” Tatum said. “He knows where he’s supposed to be on the floor, and I have the utmost confidence in me coming off a screen, them blitzing and I know I can throw the pocket pass (to Kornet). He analyzes the floor before he catches it, so it’s not like he’s holding it. As soon as he catches it, he knows exactly where to go, or he’ll come right back to me and set a re-screen so I can get some daylight.
“That connection that we have in the pick-and-roll has been really successful this year, and he does just a great job of knowing where to be. He has a great feel for the game, and he’s an excellent passer. Luke’s done a great job this year.”
It’s not hyperbolic to say Kornet, who’s averaging a career-high 18.4 minutes per game across 69 appearances (14 starts), has been one of the NBA’s most effective backup bigs this season. Among all centers with fewer than 20 starts, Kornet ranks third in offensive rebounds, assists and blocks, per Basketball-Reference. He’s also fifth in total rebounds and seventh in points and steals within that group while posting advanced metrics that rank near the top of the league, regardless of position or playing time.
Kornet ranks third among all qualified players in net rating (the rest of the top seven all play for league-leading Oklahoma City), effective field-goal percentage and true shooting percentage. He’s sixth in offensive rating, tied for sixth in offensive rebounding rate and sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio, with no other bigs cracking the top 10 in the latter.
Over his last 23 games, dating back to his big night at MSG, Kornet has posted three double-doubles, equaling his total from his first 326 career contests. His steady play off the bench has allowed Boston to manage the workloads of its top two big men, Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford, who have sat out a combined 57 games this season.
“I think (this is) some of the best basketball he’s played on both ends of the floor,” Mazzulla said in mid-February. “Taking on the challenge of guarding other big men. Just the physicality he’s playing with, protecting the rim. … His physicality and rim protection is contagious, but he also brings a level of joy to the game on and off the court. He’s been great for us.”
The rest of Boston’s rotation backups also have been clicking during the lead-up to the postseason. Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser both are shooting better than 40% from 3-point range over the last two months, as is rookie Baylor Scheierman, who isn’t likely to see regular playing time in the playoffs but has boosted his stock considerably since the All-Star break. Pritchard remains the odds-on favorite to win NBA Sixth Man of the Year.
Horford, meanwhile, has four double-doubles during that same span, second-most on the team behind Jayson Tatum’s nine. Those included Horford’s best scoring effort since the 2022 NBA Finals (26 points at Memphis last Monday) and standout showings against Jokic and LeBron James.
Double-big lineups involving Kornet and Horford have a net rating of 13.0 across 388 minutes this season. Those featuring Kornet and Porzingis have been even better, albeit in a smaller sample size (22.7 net rating in 141 minutes).
Kornet also is on a bargain contract, having re-signed with the Celtics on a one-year, $2.8 million deal last offseason. He’s just 29 years old, and his play this season should earn him more lucrative offers this summer, which Boston could have trouble matching given its perilous position as a second-apron luxury tax team.
For now, though, Kornet is a key piece for a championship contender.
“I think he just continues to get better and better,” Mazzulla told reporters after Kornet tallied 15 points and a career-high 16 rebounds in a March 29 win over San Antonio. “He carried us through a tough stretch in the beginning of the season, and he continues to make big-time plays for us. We’re really grateful to have him.”
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