Phoenix Suns guard Luke Kennard has prided himself on being an efficient 3-point shooter.
Having this perspective has greatly factored into him leading the NBA in 3-point shooting percentage three times – 44.9% in 2021-22, 49.4% in 2022-23 and 47.8% last season.
It's hard to criticize this mindset.
It’s resulted in him becoming only one of two players to achieve that, with Kyle Korver being the other (four times), but Kennard’s new team has been urging him throughout training camp and preseason to shoot more, shoot more.
Phoenix signed him after trading Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale, two of the game’s best distance shooters, to the Charlotte Hornets in acquiring Miles Bridges this offseason.
If Kennard consistently unloads from 3 even when defenders
give him little to no air space, he may set a slew of personal bests and make the Suns even more prolific on offense.
The Arizona Republic sat down with the lefty marksman to discuss that subject and more heading into the 2026-27 season.
The Suns open on the road Oct. 21 against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Kennard has been dealing with left knee tendon strain he suffered in a preseason road game Oct. 14 against the San Antonio Spurs.
Weighing efficiency vs. taking a high volume of 3s
Kennard's career-high for 3-point attempts in a single season is 423 in 2021-22.
The 12th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft out of Duke, Kennard also knocked down a career-high 190 from 3 that season on 44.9% shooting, marking the first time he led the league in 3-point shooting percentage.
Kenndard: “I need to learn to accept that I might not be the top percentage 3-point shooter this year, and I'm totally fine with that. It's not about that for me. For me, it's about how many attempts can I get up? And that's what they want me to do. And sometimes it's going to be difficult shots. Sometimes, I'll have some wide-open shots based on the guys I play with and the way that we play, but for me, obviously I want to be efficient and consistent. But at the same time, I'm not trying to be at the top of the leaderboard of 3-point percentage this year, honestly, and I think for me, just having that in the back of my mind, and not that I have in the past. I've never really, like, all right, I need to make sure I'm at the top, but I just want to go out there, and whenever I can get a shot off, I'll try to.”
Ryan Dunn, Luke Kennard, Haywood Highsmith and Koby Brea getting up shots after Suns morning shootaround. #Suns pic.twitter.com/4UJC1p41Eb
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) October 14, 2026
Thoughts on Suns single-season record for made 3s
Collin Gillespie set the mark last season at 232.
Kennard: For me, it's just being a basketball player. Playing within the system, playing with the guys that I'm playing with, making sure we get a good shot every time, but I do want to get up a lot of attempts, and I think it can kind of open up more things for us offensively if I do that and I am aggressive. I would like to get up a lot of attempts this year, more than I have in the past few years, and I think I'll be able to do that with this group.”
On participating in this season’s NBA All-Star 3-point contest
Kennard has only competed in one NBA 3-point contest during All-Star weekend. He finished second to Karl-Anthony Towns in 2022 in Cleveland when he was with the Los Angeles Clippers.
Kenndard: “My wife, we're expecting another kid. So we're not going to be traveling for All-Star or anything like that. We’re going to be staying put. So, yeah, we'll see.”
Memories of Cleveland 3-point contest
The 30-year-old Kennard was born in Middletown, Ohio, and attended Franklin High.
Kennard: “It was awesome. Love it. There was a lot of fun, but yeah, it’d be nice to be out there. (Towns), he didn't miss. I thought I shot it well, but he didn't miss. He didn't miss.”
Team expectations
Kennard: “The way that we compete. Skill, talent, depth and the way we prepare, the way that we sacrifice a lot of stuff on the court to make sure we're playing the right way. I think competing on a nightly basis, how hard we play, and how much we want to win. Anything can happen in the NBA. I know this group has a lot of high expectations. I don't know what the outside noise is saying or anything about us, but I know we expect to have a really good year, and I really believe in this group a lot.”
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Volume vs efficiency? Suns' Luke Kennard to hoist more 3s | Exclusive
