点击查看原文：Luke Kornet 'felt led' to play for San Antonio Spurs
Luke Kornet ‘felt led’ to play for San Antonio Spurs
After four seasons with Boston, Luke Kornet, a 7-foot-1 Texas native, is ready for more “responsibility” in San Antonio as Victor Wembanyama’s backup.
With the No. 40 he sported the last 4 ½ seasons with Boston belonging to Harrison Barnes, newly signed Spurs backup center Luke Kornet leaned on his faith and his new team’s championship lore in choosing No. 7.
“I’ve never worn the number before, and I feel like at this time of life for me and my family, seven’s a big number of covenant and fulfillment and the faith, so that’s kind of what called me to it,” the eight-year veteran said.
“And the secondary reason was I just hope to be a third of the player Tim Duncan (No. 21) was.”
Thrilled to have finally found what they hope will be a rock-solid caddy for All-Star center Victor Wembanyama, the Spurs will settle for the 7-foot-1, 250-pound Kornet being 100% of the player he was for the Celtics last season.
The Spurs officially signed Kornet on Monday before he chatted with the local media. Terms of the deal were not announced, but the pact is worth about $41 million over four years, with the third year partially guaranteed and the fourth not guaranteed at all, The Athletic reported. He’s set to receive $11 million in 2025-26 and $10.45 million in 2026-27.
A native of Lantana who went to high school at Liberty Christian in Argyle in Denton County, Kornet returns to his home state with a high comfort level in his new environs while filling a glaring need for the Spurs.
“I know a lot of people from (San Antonio), so I feel like my impression of the organization and of the city is just nothing but positive,” said Kornet, who added he and his wife Tierney “felt led” to San Antonio and “felt peaceful” about their decision after leaving Boston filled with “gratitude” for their time there.
It also helped that Derrick White gave the Spurs a ringing endorsement. White played 4 1/2 seasons for the Spurs before they traded him to the Celtics in February 2022.
“Derrick had nothing but positive things to say,” Kornet said. “Part of the organization just kind of precedes itself, but then Derek obviously said it was such a great place for him.”
Kornet is confident the same will be true for him. He joins the Spurs after averaging 6.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 blocks off the bench for Boston last season as a key contributor on a team that reached the second round of the playoffs after winning the 2024 NBA title.
In 73 games for the Celtics last season, he shot 66.8% from the field and ranked eighth in the league in rim protection, holding opponents to just 52.2% shooting.
The Spurs finished 34-48 last season in extending their playoff drought to a franchise-high six seasons, but Kornet is confident he’s joined a club whose fortunes will soon change, especially with the 7-3 Wembanyama serving as the franchise pillar.
Wembanyama, 21, appears on schedule for the start of training camp after missing the last two months of last season due to a blood clot in his right shoulder.
“It’s pretty exciting in terms of (the Spurs’ potential) because Victor obviously has got great skills, and then with De’Aaron (Fox) and Stephon (Castle) and (No. 2 overall draft pick) Dylan Harper, it’s a good mix,” Kornet said. "Victor’s talented and I feel like we could play together like I did some with (7-2) Kristaps Porzingis and (6-9) Al Horford this past year.
“I have a lot of experience with that (playing with other big men) offensively and defensively, and then being able to be a good pick-and-roll partner with the downhill guards.”
In listing his assets, Kornet also pointed to his ability to protect the rim and add possessions via offensive rebounding.
“The fun part about it is that it is going to look different than it was the year before me,” said Kornet, referring to the Spurs lack off interior defense and rebounding last season when Wembanyama was on the bench.
Kornet and the Frenchman got to share a few moments together at the Victory Capital Performance Center before Kornet met with the media. Wembanyama was at the practice facility working out after a lengthy vacation that included stops in China and Japan.
“There were quite a few guys around this morning, so I got to meet them all,” Kornet said. "I look forward to actually being able to start working out with guys and being in the room and just starting to develop those relationship.
“It’s a pretty exciting time of transition, and the the favorite part is when you actually get to work and you get to face challenges and you get to try to figure those things out together. Really, to me, that’s the best part about basketball.”
Along those lines, Kornet said the chance to take on more “responsibility” is one of the things that made the Spurs attractive to him. Set to turn 30 on July 15, he’s the second-oldest player on the roster behind Barnes, 33.
“It’s definitely going to be a bit of a new experience where obviously I’ve been playing with a very experienced group the last couple of years,” Kornet said. “Honestly, I just hope to be able to serve in whatever way I can. I don’t want to walk in feeling like you’re teaching anybody, but I feel like having the experience I’ve had and with us having won a championship in Boston and having a lot of playoff experience (will be an asset).”
Kornet played in 43 playoff games for the Celtics.
“I also feel like one of my skills has always just been being able to try to learn how other players on my team see the game and just being able to help them and kind of help the team augment those (skills) to the best of their abilities,” he said. “So, I just look forward to that new opportunity with a different group of players and to helping the Spurs really become the best version of ourselves and to just keep growing.”