Corey Kispert Will Change Trend for College Seniors in NBA Draft
By Peter Dewey
It’s no secret that floor spacing and 3-point shooting have become king in today’s NBA, and there may not be anyone better at shooting the deep ball in the 2021 NBA Draft class than Gonzaga University forward Corey Kispert.
Kispert, who is a rare breed in the fact that he is a senior, has been projected to be a borderline lottery pick by several mock drafts in the weeks leading up to the draft on July 29.
WynnBET has posted odds for Kispert’s draft position, and he is currently set at 13.5 with the over and under being set as a pick’em. Essentially, WynnBET is giving Kispert almost a 50-50 chance of being a lottery pick.
The Golden State Warriors, who hold the No. 14 pick in the draft, are a team that Kispert has been mocked at, but if he falls past Golden State, he’d fall out of the lottery.
Why is this significant? Well, Kispert has a chance to do something that hasn’t happened since the 2016 NBA Draft.
If he’s taken in the lottery, Kispert will be the first college senior since Kris Dunn and Buddy Hield to be drafted in the lottery. The past four NBA drafts have not seen a senior go in the first 14 picks.
Even though Kispert is already 22 years old, he can provide an instant impact as a shooter for a contending team. Golden State is one of the few lottery teams that is expecting to compete for a title next season, which makes it an ideal landing spot for Kispert.
Last season, Kispert shot 44.0 percent from 3 while averaging18.6 points per game. Imagine him on the wing or corner while teams chase around Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson?
It could be lethal.
Kispert shot 40.8 percent from 3 for his career at Gonzaga, and he’s taken strides to be a competent defender (2.0 defensive box plus/minus last season).
Lottery teams may be hesitant to take an older player like Kispert, but it is hard to deny the immediate value he’d bring to a team. Teams that lost in the play-in tournament this season like the Warriors, Charlotte Hornets, San Antonio Spurs and Indiana Pacers should all have their eyes on Kispert at the end of the lottery.