One of the Spurs’ biggest additions heading into the 2025/26 season was backup center Luke Kornet. He wasn’t a sexy signing, but if his performance in recent years is any indication, he’ll allow San Antonio
to hold their own when Victor Wembanyama rests, something that was a problem.
The appeal of Kornet, however, goes beyond just backing up Wemby. In his last two years in Boston, the newest Spur successfully shared the floor with other big men, and it’s reasonable to expect the coaching staff to try to use him in that setting. Let’s take a look at how he did it with the Celtics and whether the fit with Wembanyama is good.
On defense, expect Kornet to be the main rim protector on two-big lineups
In Boston, Kornet played next to both Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis. With either on the court, Kornet slotted as the rim protector. It makes sense, considering how good he was at it. In shots he contested at the rim, opponents converted just 52.2 percent, an elite mark that had him in the same tier as Jarrett Allen and extremely close to Rudy Gobert on an admittedly lower number of attempts. His block percentage of 4.4 percent can’t compare to Wembanyama’s gargantuan 10.4, but it puts him in the second tier in the league, still a fantastic mark. It just made sense to have Kornet in the best position to contest shots close to the basket.
The Celtics accomplished that in two ways. First, if there was a traditional paint-bound big on the floor for the opponent, that was who Kornet guarded. It allowed him to be close to the rim and play mostly drop defense on the pick-and-roll while his more nimble teammates ventured further out to the perimeter. When there was a stretch big on the floor and a perimeter player who struggled from outside, Joe Mazzula adjusted the matchups, having Kornet defend the poor shooter, no matter their position. To give you an idea, when the Celtics played the Spurs, Kornet spent time on Stephon Castle while Horford guarded Wembanyama. He covered ground fairly well as a roamer, so the occasional late rotation was not a major issue.
Does it work with Wemby?
In short stretches, it should. The reality is that Wembanyama is the best rim protector in the league by a country mile, so having him play in the perimeter and potentially dealing with switches doesn’t seem like the best use of his talents. It does make sense to occasionally change his workload, especially if he has to deal with a burly, physical big inside. Kornet has some issues with the elite versions of those players on the boards because of his high center of gravity, but he has no problem trying to match their physicality and fouling them hard if he has to, which should protect Wemby from wear and tear and foul trouble.
On offense, Kornet does the little things and plays smartly
As mentioned, Kornet does everything a traditional center is expected to do. The Celtics often had him set screens, run to the rim, and crash the boards while their stretch big — more often Horford than Porzingis — spaced the floor as a wing. Boston didn’t prioritize his rolls to the rim, as they had pull-up threats that often used screens to create room to fire, but he made himself available and got offensive boards and taps that kept possessions alive. Similarly, when he shared the floor with Neemias Queta, both largely played like bruising bigs, a strategy a few other teams have also used when playing two centers. But that’s not all Kornet did.
Sometimes, Kornet started the possession in the perimeter, along with his four teammates, despite not being a shooting threat. His man played off him, not unlike what opponents did to Sochan when Wembanyama and Sochan shared the floor, but just like Sochan, Kornet was smart about when to cut and when to relocate to take advantage of the defense’s lack of attention to him. Whether from the slot or the corner, as soon as his man collapsed onto the ball or a shot was launched, he’d cut or crash the boards. The idea of having him in the perimeter was to provide a sliver more of spacing, but also to use his off-ball screening and hand-off game to spring a shooter open while his defender played off him.
Does it work with Wemby?
It should. Wembanyama spaced the floor as an off-ball threat at times last season and would likely be willing to do it for short stretches. Opponents would have to respect his shot, too. San Antonio doesn’t have as many pull-up three-point shooters as Boston, but should have driving threats that make the defense commit after ball screens. Kornet would likely have to up his roll-man finishing, which should be possible. As for having Kornet in the perimeter to start plays, the Spurs are not as committed to five-out ball as the Celtics are, but are not strangers to using bigs as initiators from the top of the arc, so they could find uses for him as more than just a screener.
Kornet is not the flashiest of players, but he can do the two things the Spurs need from him: back up Wemby and play next to him if the coaching staff goes to try a different look. There’s a chance he could do even more — is the three-point shot he flashed earlier in his career still a thing? — but Mitch Johnson will take solid center play from his second-string big man, and Kornet should offer that consistently. As the season approaches, hopefully, the new addition will show how important he can be for this team, even in limited minutes and a non-glamorous role.
