Wizards’ Corey Kispert is one of NBA’s most underrated offensive players
By Cem Yolbulan
Let’s play a quick game of trivia. Do you know how many perimeter players played over 70 games and had a True Shooting percentage of over 65 last season? The answer is just 1. And who is that player?
Yes, you guessed it right. It was Corey Kispert of the Washington Wizards.
Kispert’s consistency and offensive efficiency were completely unmatched last season. Yet, due to the underwhelming performance of the Washington Wizards, it went completely under-the-radar.
The shooting splits for Corey Kispert was out of this world last season. His field goal percentage of 49.7% and three-point shooting percentage of 42.4% were one-of-a-kind in the NBA. In fact, no other player who attempts more than 1 three-pointer a game hit those marks last season.
In the 2022-23 season, the only perimeter players who had a higher efficiency than Kispert were Austin Reaves, Kevin Durant, and Luke Kennard. However, all three players played significantly fewer games than Kispert. If they played more, their true shooting percentage would have likely gone down.
The reason for Kispert being underrated is the fact that his inside-the-arc game is largely unnoticed. He is recognized as an elite sharpshooter but the extent of his scoring versatility is unknown. In the first two seasons of his career, he hit over 62 percent of his two-point attempts, an elite number, especially for a perimeter player. Yes, he is a low-usage, low-volume player, only taking 5.2 threes and 2.7 twos last season. But, he makes good decisions on-the-catch, can beat his defender after a shot fake, and keep the ball moving. He mostly picks his spots for when to attack or cut off-ball. He is very selective about his shots.
However, that is a very good thing. Especially on a team that has players like Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Poole who can struggle with efficiency at times, Kispert’s super-efficient offense is extremely helpful.
Hopefully, this is the year the rest of the league starts appreciating Kispert’s complete offensive package. The Wizards may be lacking in national attention, but Kispert needs to be recognized by fans as an impactful, versatile offensive weapon.
