Last Updated on July 24, 2026 by Mat Diekhake

Luke Kennard has built a reputation as one of the NBA’s most reliable long-range shooters, pairing elite accuracy with smart decision-making and an unselfish offensive approach. While his outside shooting grabs the headlines, his feel for the game, secondary playmaking, and ability to thrive without dominating the ball have made him a valuable contributor wherever he’s played.

Here’s a detailed profile of Luke Kennard:

  • Full Name: Luke Douglas Kennard
  • Nationality: American
  • Age: Born on June 24, 1996
  • Hometown: Middletown, Ohio, USA
  • Height: 6 feet 5 inches (196 cm)
  • Weight: 206 pounds (93 kg)
  • Wingspan: 6 feet 5 inches (196 cm)
  • Shoe Size: 12 (US)
  • Shoe Brand: Nike Zoom Freak 4, Nike Zoom Freak 2, Nike Zoom Freak 1, Nike KD 11
  • Jersey Number: 10
  • Position: Shooting Guard / Small Forward
  • High School: Franklin High School (Franklin, Ohio)
  • College: Duke University – Duke Blue Devils
  • NBA Draft: 2017, 1st Round, 12th overall by the Detroit Pistons
    • Teams Played For:
    • Detroit Pistons (2017–2020)
    • Los Angeles Clippers (2020–2023)
    • Memphis Grizzlies (2023–Present)
  • Championship Rings: None as of 2024
  • Kids: No known children
  • Siblings: He has an older sister named Lauren Kennard.

Luke Kennard’s player archetype is a movement shooter whose spacing consistently changes the way defenses have to guard his team. A crafty 6-foot-5 wing with a quick release, he thrives by relocating without the ball, punishing late closeouts, and making smart reads when defenders chase him off the three-point line. He competes defensively but is best suited to team concepts rather than difficult individual assignments. Kennard’s scoring rarely comes from forcing shots; instead, he patiently waits for openings and has established himself as one of the NBA’s most accurate long-range shooters.

Scouting Report

Luke Kennard’s shooting gets the headlines, but what has always impressed me is how he manipulates defenders before he ever catches the ball. He isn’t simply running off screens hoping to get open; he’ll change pace, set up his defender with subtle footwork, reject a screen when the defender cheats and relocate into passing windows that appear almost by instinct. That’s why his shooting translates so well into team offense. Defenders stay attached to him, and that constant attention opens driving lanes for everyone else. The interesting thing is that he’s a far better passer than he’s often given credit for. When defenders fly at him, he rarely rushes the next decision, instead taking one or two controlled dribbles to collapse the rotation before slipping a pocket pass, hitting the roller or finding the weak-side corner. He’s comfortable handling secondary pick-and-rolls because he understands how to play off an advantage rather than trying to manufacture one from nothing. The trade-off is that his lack of burst limits his ability to consistently create separation against set defenses, and longer, more physical defenders can crowd his airspace if they don’t have to worry about getting beaten off the dribble. Defensively, he competes within the structure of a scheme, rotates on time and generally knows where the next pass is going, but offenses will target him in switches because he doesn’t have the lateral quickness or length to consistently contain dynamic scorers in isolation. Teams with multiple creators and plenty of off-ball movement maximize his value because he can function as both a movement shooter and an intelligent connector, keeping possessions alive without dominating the ball. To me, his game shares a lot with Kevin Huerter in the blend of shooting and secondary playmaking, while there are flashes of JJ Redick’s off-ball craft, though Kennard is more comfortable putting the ball on the floor and making the extra pass once defenses overcommit to taking away the jumper.