LOS ANGELES — Luke Kennard knows he’s a great shooter. But he also knows the main criticism of his game involves not shooting as much as he should.
Before making his debut with the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday, following last week’s trade from the Atlanta Hawks, Kennard had played 506 NBA games and made 44.2 percent of his 2,211 career 3-point attempts since being drafted 12th by the Detroit Pistons in 2017. Of the 79 players who have played at least 500 games since 2017 and attempted at least 100 3-pointers, Kennard’s percentage ranked first entering Saturday — and it’s not even close: Doug McDermott (41.5 percent), Norman Powell (40.2 percent), Karl-Anthony Towns (40.2 percent) and Georges Niang (40.1 percent) are the only others above 40 percent.
Kennard’s 4.4 3-point attempts per game, however, rank 43rd out of those 79 players. He has attempted at least 10 3s in a single game only 18 times in his career, and none this season.
Marcus Smart, his new Lakers (and former Memphis Grizzlies) teammate, has 42 of those since Kennard entered the NBA, and he shoots it at just 32.4 percent for his career.
“Excited about Luke,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said about Kennard, who the Lakers acquired from the Hawks in exchange for Gabe Vincent and a 2032 second-round pick. “I think he’s one of the best shooters in the NBA. I’m gonna highly encourage him to shoot more, and not turn down shots.”
Even before Kennard suited up for Saturday’s home game, the result a 105-99 Lakers win against the Golden State Warriors, he knew the expectations. This is his fourth team in four seasons, and he is a free agent this summer. He is used to introductions and adjustments.
“I don’t want to say it’s not playing the right way, but I like to try to make the right play at all times,” Kennard said. “I feel like I know the game of basketball very well, and I will shoot it. I will be aggressive. I know that’s what they want me to do. I’m just having conversations with those guys, and I’m excited to do that.”
Kennard showed his ability in his Lakers debut. He’ll never forget his first touch, which came after the Warriors and Lakers exchanged turnovers. Austin Reaves found him in front of the Warriors’ bench, he shot it with no hesitation and got perfect results.
“I was definitely hunting a shot, trying to get one up,” Kennard said after the Lakers improved to 32-19. “I looked at my first shot, and it was crazy high. But it felt good when it left my hands.”
Later in the first half, Kennard used that 3-point shooting gravity to get a layup, driving by a closeout attempt by Warriors small forward Moses Moody. The assist came from none other than LeBron James, a fellow Ohio native, who Kennard actually scored more points than in high school.
“First of all, I haven’t even gotten to the point where I even confronted him about breaking my scoring record in Ohio when he passed me,” said James, who scored a team-high 20 points Saturday while adding a game-high 10 assists with All-Star Luka Dončić out because of a left hamstring strain. “But he did play for my AAU team, so we’re kind of even.”
The LA Clippers once valued Kennard so highly that they traded for him from the Pistons and immediately gave him a four-year, $64 million extension in 2020 to play with ball-dominant stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Now, Kennard will play with Dončić, James and Reaves.
“Yeah, a lot of open 3s,” Kennard said when asked about opportunities on the Lakers’ roster and their style of play. “Obviously, Luka and Bron, they attract so much attention, and they’re awesome. They can play really well. Those guys attract so much attention to other teams on the offensive end, and for me, it’s spacing the floor, making the right plays at all times.”
But Kennard isn’t just a shooter. The Clippers valued him because he could also serve as a ballhandler and playmaker. Redick will look to tap into that as well, especially if Reaves returns to the starting lineup.
“I think one of the underrated parts of him, he’s been — in the half court — like kind of an initiator of action, if that makes sense,” Redick said of Kennard. “We call it ‘ear,’ but you know, playing out of ear, where he gets that little single (Allen) Iverson cut and into a drive or into a side pick-and-roll.
“You can play him off-ball, obviously, to initiate action. But he’s able to just consistently make the right play. And because of that, the ball movement thing, he can be a guy that starts your offense in some ways.”
The fourth quarter illustrated Kennard’s strong decision making. After a Smart defensive rebound, Kennard ran to the corner in front of the Lakers’ bench. When Reaves got Kennard the ball, the bench raised its arms in anticipation of a 3-point attempt. But Kennard saw a streaking Jarred Vanderbilt, who had beaten the Warriors down the floor, for an easy pass and dunk.
Swing, swing, SLAM@drinkpathwater | Assist of the Game pic.twitter.com/ID5Can0UjC
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) February 8, 2026
Later in the period, Kennard came off a screen on a baseline out-of-bounds play. Maxi Kleber rolled into space along the right side of the floor, and Kennard found him for one of the Lakers’ 29 assists.
Kennard finished Saturday’s game with 10 points and two assists while making 2 of 4 3s, in line with his career averages.
The Lakers will have to be cognizant of the lineups that include Kennard to ensure he doesn’t get hunted. The Warriors used a lot of zone defenses Saturday night, and they are among the least likely NBA teams to target a player’s isolation or pick-and-roll defense, especially with Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler out.
But Kennard scoring in double figures and posting multiple assists and 3s was something the outgoing Vincent hadn’t done in a game this season.
That’s a good first impression.