Luke Kornet

Luke Francis Kornet (born July 15, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Vanderbilt and is the all-time leader for blocked shots in the school's history and the NCAA all-time leader for three-pointers made by any player seven feet tall or taller. Kornet became an NBA champion upon winning the 2024 NBA Finals with the Boston Celtics.

College career
Kornet averaged 8.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.64 blocks over 24.1 minutes in 128 games during his four-year career at Vanderbilt University. During his senior year with the Commodores, Kornet averaged 13.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.00 blocks in 35 starts, earning All-SEC and All-SEC Defensive honors. He holds the NCAA record for three-pointers made by a 7-footer with 150 and is the Commodores' all-time leading shot blocker with 210. On January 12, 2016, Kornet blocked a school-record 10 shots and finished with the second triple-double in Vanderbilt history with 11 points and 11 rebounds, helping the Commodores defeat Auburn 75–57.

New York Knicks (2017–2019)
After going undrafted in the 2017 NBA draft, Kornet joined the New York Knicks for the 2017 NBA Summer League. On July 3, 2017, he signed a two-way contract with the Knicks. On February 8, 2018, with his parents in attendance, Kornet made his NBA debut against the Toronto Raptors in Toronto. Kornet finished with a double-double, scoring 11 points and 10 rebounds in 22 minutes, thus being the second Knicks rookie in history to debut with a double-double. He also finished with four blocks, making him the first player in NBA history to sink three three-pointers and have four blocks in his debut.

On July 6, 2018, Kornet signed a standard contract with the Knicks. On April 9, 2019, Kornet recorded a double-double with 12 points, 13 rebounds, and a career-high six blocks in the Knicks' 96–86 victory over the Chicago Bulls.

Chicago Bulls (2019–2021)
On July 17, 2019, Kornet signed a fully guaranteed two-year contract for $4.5 million with the Chicago Bulls.

Boston Celtics (2021)
On March 25, 2021, Kornet was traded to the Boston Celtics in a three-team trade involving the Washington Wizards. He re-signed with the Celtics on October 16, but was waived later that day.

Maine Celtics (2021)
On October 23, Kornet signed with the Maine Celtics as an affiliate player. In 10 games, he averaged 11.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.7 blocks in 27.4 minutes per contest.

Cleveland Cavaliers (2021–2022)
On December 21, 2021, Kornet signed a 10-day contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Milwaukee Bucks (2022)
On January 3, 2022, Kornet signed a 10-day contract with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Return to Maine (2022)
On January 14, 2022, Kornet was reacquired by the Maine Celtics.

Return to Boston (2022–present)
On February 11, 2022, Kornet signed a contract with the Boston Celtics for the remainder of the season. The Celtics made it to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Golden State Warriors in six games despite a 2–1 lead.

On July 1, 2022, Kornet re-signed with the Celtics. He signed a two-year, $4,546,582 contract, including $2,133,278 guaranteed, and an annual average salary of $2,273,291. In 2023–24, Kornet earned a base salary of $2,413,304. Kornet became an NBA champion when the Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks in 5 games in the 2024 NBA Finals. On July 2, 2024, he re-signed with the Celtics.

Kornet is known for his invention and use of an unorthodox method of shot contesting that he calls "The Eclipse". Also known as the "Kornet Contest", this technique involves jumping with both hands raised, no matter the distance from the shooter, in an attempt to visually block the basket and distract the shooter. As of December 6, 2022, opposing shooters were 5 for 18 on shot attempts against Kornet's Eclipse. While a small sample size, this conversion rate of 28% was well below the league average of 38% made on 3-point field goal attempts. The Eclipse has been attempted by other players including Marcus Smart and Jalen Duren.

Personal life
Kornet is the son of former Vanderbilt and NBA player Frank Kornet and Nashville television news anchor Tracy Kornet. His sister Nicole played basketball at Oklahoma and UCLA. He also has a brother named John.

Kornet is a Catholic and maintains a blog of churches he visits during his playing career. Kornet is married to his wife Tierney and has two children as of 2022.