Luke Kennard has been everything the Los Angeles Lakers hoped for and more when they acquired him at the trade deadline.
Kennard has fit in perfectly on the Lakers roster, acting as the team’s best shooting threat but also a reliable secondary ball-handler behind LeBron James. Kennard has already made a name for himself in Los Angeles after leading the team to an exciting Game 1 win over the Houston Rockets.
Jaxson Hayes and Kennard both grew up in Ohio and the Lakers center discussed how long he’s been watching the sharpshooter play.
“He’s three years older than me. My roommate now grew up with him. My roommate Justin grew up working out with Luke and I’ve known Justin for years, I’ve known Luke for years,” Hayes said after Monday’s practice. “So yeah, I used to grow up watching him drop 40, 50 a game in high school. It was fun times.”
Hayes also said it’s been fun to watch someone from his area succeed at the NBA level like Kennard is doing.
“It’s been awesome,” he said. “At Duke, I think he still averaged like 20. I remember him balling at Duke and then his first three years, obviously, he was just a shooter and just seen him develop over the years and be the best shooter in the league. I’ve known he’d be able to do all of this. I watched him do it in high school. I watched him go for 50 and like 10 and 10. It’s like stuff like that. But just getting to watch him do it in the NBA and as being a kid that grew up in around the same area as him, being a little bit younger watching him play as a younger kid is always awesome just playing with someone like that watching them develop.”
Kennard has always been a useful NBA player because of his outside shooting ability, but as Hayes noted he’s capable of so much more offensively. Kennard’s natural guard skillset is coming out more out of necessity as the Lakers try to navigate the playoffs without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
There’s still a long way to go, but Kennard’s got the purple and gold in a strong position heading into Game 2.
Deandre Ayton describes Luke Kennard’s Game 1 performance in one word
Kennard was the driving force behind the Lakers’ Game 1 win as he led all scorers with 27 points including going a perfect five-of-five from the 3-point line. After the win, Deandre Ayton admitted he was speechless after witnessing Kennard’s performance.
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