When the Los Angeles Lakers sent Gabe Vincent and a future second-round draft pick to the Atlanta Hawks for guard Luke Kennard in February, it was thought by plenty of people to be an insignificant trade. But it was quickly discovered that Kennard had added some much-needed depth and bench scoring to the Lakers.
He has always been one of the NBA’s deadliest 3-point shooters. But fans quickly noticed that he can also attack closeouts, attack off the dribble and even, at times, facilitate and set up his teammates. With Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves sidelined due to injury, Kennard has taken on more facilitating duties, and he tallied 32 assists in the Lakers’ last five regular-season games.
Kennard led the league during the regular season with an accuracy of 47.8% from 3-point range, and as a member of the Lakers, he shot 44.8% from that distance. His teammates awarded him a trophy to commemorate his leading everyone in that category.
This was the third time in his nine seasons that he led the league in 3-point shooting percentage. For his career, he’s at 44.2% from 3-point land, which is second in NBA history behind only Steve Kerr.
Kennard will need to play at the zenith of his ability during the team’s upcoming playoff series against the Houston Rockets, especially given how solid Houston is on the defensive end. But he has shown that he’s much more than your typical 3-point specialist.
He averaged nine points on 52.7% overall shooting, 2.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 23 minutes a game in 32 regular-season games with the Purple and Gold.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Lakers gave Luke Kennard trophy for leading NBA in 3-point accuracy
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
