Luke Kennard and His Three-Point Gravity

Luke Kennard is joining the Hawks on a 1-year, $11-million deal as a shooter off the bench (Image via Petre Thomas/USA TODAY Sports)
By: Lucas Kochevar

One of the Hawks newest acquisitions Luke Kennard comes in to provide a unique spark to the Hawks offense that the team hasn’t seen since Kyle Korver was around. Kennard is a three-point menace and finds himself in Atlanta on a one-year deal worth $11-million. Kennard has been around for a bit as he was drafted by Detroit in 2017 and played for the Clippers and Grizzlies before joining the Hawks as a rental for this season. Kennard is a career 43.8% three-point shooter and provides much needed spacing for the Hawks second unit. 

Kennard is the cream of the crop as a shooter in the league, even in terms of league history. Kennard ranks third all-time as a 43.8% shooter right below Steve Kerr and Hubert Davis. Kennard’s impact for the Hawks could be in spots from three where he thrives the most, the corners. Trae Young and Kristaps Porzingis are volume shooters from three when it comes to straight on, so Kennard will have to find his spots where he’ll run to and stay ready for the pass. From the right corner in 2024-25, Kennard shot a strong 45%, but from the left corner he shot an insane 62%. 

Kennard will have the chance to double his success if he ends up on the court alongside Trae Young. Young led the league in assists last year with 11.6 per game, but the more eye-popping number is 20.7 potential assists per game. Adding in someone that can make open threes should boost those assist numbers, alongside the potential assists. Kennard isn’t the only one that can knock down open threes as Porzingis, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Caleb Houstan all come in as noted three-point shooters.

The Hawks three-point shooting last year sat at 35.8% last season with limited production from beyond the arc. The issue with spacing brought a lot of pressure on Trae Young to create the three-point opportunities. Zaccharie Risacher came around post-all star break and Onyeka Okongwu flashed some of his shooting prowess, but the Hawks have missed having a true guard threat from three since Kevin Huerter and Bogdan Bogdanovic shot at their career averages en route to the ECF in 2021. 

The Hawks’ main concern with Kennard on the floor will come on the defensive side as he has never been a positive asset on that side of the ball. He’s not a tall shooter and he’s not a super strong player so he has to rely on the stereotypical hard-hat, craftiness to be an opportunistic defender. For the rest of his career, he’ll be an offensive first player and that’ll serve the Hawks well with a scoring punch off the bench.