Kyle Korver


Kyle Elliot Korver is an American professional basketball executive and former player who is the assistant general manager for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association. He played college basketball for the Creighton Bluejays. He is regarded as one of the best three-point shooters of all-time.
Korver was drafted in the second round of the 2003 NBA draft by the New Jersey Nets. He was immediately traded to the Philadelphia 76ers. After four and a half seasons in Philadelphia, he was traded to the Utah Jazz. During his first stint with the Jazz in 2009–10, Korver shot 53.6 percent from three-point range, which set an NBA single-season three-point field goal accuracy record. In 2010, he joined the Chicago Bulls. In 2012, he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks, where in 2015 he was named an NBA All-Star. In 2017, he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he was a member of back-to-back Finals teams. In 2018, he was traded back to the Jazz. In 2019, he signed with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Korver ranks among the most prolific 3-point shooters in NBA history, ranking eighth all-time in 3-point field goals made and tenth all-time in 3-point field goal percentage. He is the only player to lead the NBA in three-point shooting percentage four times. Korver holds the Hawks and Jazz single-season three-point field goal percentage records and depending on the source/minimum threshold he is the Hawks career three-point percentage record-holder. He holds the NBA record for the highest three-point percentage in a season.

Early life

Korver was born in Paramount, California, and is the oldest of four children of Kevin Korver, a pastor for the Third Reformed Church in Pella, Iowa, and Laine Korver. Both of his parents played basketball at Central College in Pella. His grandfather, Harold Korver, is also a pastor at the Emmanuel Reformed Church in Paramount, California. He grew up in the Los Angeles area and was a Los Angeles Lakers fan as a child. Watching Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and the Showtime Lakers instilled a love of basketball in Korver that made him want to pursue it himself. He moved to Iowa in 1993 when his father accepted his current pastoral position and graduated from Pella High School. In 2018, he and his three brothers were still in the top 10 in both career scoring and rebounding at Pella High.

College career

As a freshman at Creighton in 1999–2000, Korver was named to the MVC's All-Bench team, All-Freshman team, and All-Newcomer team while averaging 8.8 points per game. He came off the bench in all but one game, hitting 43.4 percent of his three-pointers and 89.5 percent at the free-throw line.
As a sophomore in 2000–01, Korver earned second-team All-MVC honors while leading the league champion Jays with 14.6 points per game. He made a then-record 100 three-pointers while ranking 12th nationally with 45.2 percent accuracy from downtown. He was also named to the MVC All-Tournament team.
As a junior in 2001–02, Korver led Creighton in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals while earning MVC Player of the Year and honorable-mention All-America honors. He ranked 12th nationally in free throw percentage and 41st in three-point percentage while leading the Jays to MVC regular-season and Tournament titles.
As a senior in 2002–03, Korver became one of six players to repeat as MVC Player of the Year, joining Larry Bird, Hersey Hawkins, Xavier McDaniel, Lewis Lloyd, and Junior Bridgeman. He was a consensus All-American, including second-team honors from the Associated Press, ESPN.com, and the USBWA. Korver earned MVC tournament MVP honors for the second year in a row. In 34 games as a senior, he averaged 17.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.5 steals in 31.8 minutes per game.
Korver finished his career at Creighton fourth all-time in scoring, first in three-pointers made, first in three-point attempts, first in three-point accuracy, first in free throw accuracy, eighth in assists, ninth in blocked shots and fourth in steals. His 371 career made three-pointers is an MVC record and tied for sixth most in NCAA history. Korver also holds Creighton single-season records for three-pointers made, three-point percentage, and free-throw percentage.
Korver graduated with a bachelor's degree in visual communications. He returned to Creighton in May 2019 to deliver the keynote at the university's graduation ceremony.

Professional career

Philadelphia 76ers (2003–2007)

On June 26, 2003, Korver was selected by the New Jersey Nets with the 51st overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft. The Nets, fresh off an Atlantic Division win and an appearance in the NBA Finals, were low on cash and had none of their preferred draft choices remaining on the board. The organization selected Korver and immediately sold his draft rights to the 76ers for $125,000. The $125,000 reportedly covered the Nets' summer league costs and a new copy machine, with the "traded for a copy machine" incident becoming a rallying cry for Korver for the rest of his career. In 2019, Korver used the experience to help motivate that year's graduating class at his alma mater, Creighton University, explaining, "a few years ago, the copy machine broke...and I'm still playing."
As a rookie in 2003–04, he averaged 4.5 points and 1.5 rebounds in 74 games. On December 21, 2003, he scored a season-high 18 points against the Boston Celtics.
In 2004–05, Korver appeared in 82 games, and averaged 11.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists. He set the Sixers record for three-pointers made and attempted. He led the league in three-pointers made, and ranked among NBA leaders in attempts and percentage. On November 26, 2004, he scored a season-high 26 points against the Washington Wizards.
On August 2, 2005, Korver re-signed with the 76ers to a six-year, $25 million contract. On February 24, 2006, he scored a career-high 31 points in a 116–111 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. In 82 games in 2005–06, he averaged 11.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 31.3 minutes. He shot.430 from the field and.849 from the free-throw line and ranked fifth in the league in three-pointers made and 11th in three-point percentage.
In his last full year in Philadelphia in 2006–07, Korver appeared in 74 games and averaged a career-high 14.4 points. He led the NBA in free throw percentage and ranked ninth in three-point shooting. On February 21, 2007, he made six 3-pointers and matched a career high with 31 points to lead the 76ers to a 104–84 victory over the New York Knicks.

Utah Jazz (2007–2010)

On December 29, 2007, Korver was traded to the Utah Jazz in exchange for Gordan Giriček and a future first-round draft pick. On February 6, 2008, he scored a season-high 27 points against the Denver Nuggets.
In 2008–09, Korver appeared in 78 games and averaged 9.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.8 assists. On March 14, 2009, he scored a season-high 25 points against the Miami Heat.
On October 28, 2009, Korver underwent surgery to remove a bone spur in his left knee. He subsequently missed the first 23 games of the 2009–10 season. On March 31, 2010, he scored a season-high 21 points against the Golden State Warriors. In 52 games, he averaged 7.2 points and 2.1 rebounds. He led the NBA in three-point shooting at.536, setting the NBA single season three-point shooting record, edging the record percentage of.524 that Steve Kerr set in 1994–95. His spot-on shooting surged after he finally returned fully healthy after the All-Star break, having struggled with wrist and knee issues following surgeries to both over the previous year.

Chicago Bulls (2010–2012)

On July 13, 2010, Korver signed with the Chicago Bulls. On November 24, 2010, he scored a season-high 24 points against the Phoenix Suns. In 2010–11, Korver, for the third time in his career, appeared in all 82 regular-season games, and averaged 8.3 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 20.1 minutes. After finishing as the first seed in the East with a 62–20 record, the Bulls advanced through to the Eastern Conference finals, where they were defeated in five games by the Miami Heat.
Korver appeared in 65 games with the Bulls in 2011–12, averaging 8.1 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 22.6 minutes. On March 10, 2012, he scored a season-high 26 points in a 111–97 win over the Utah Jazz. He hit 6 of 11 3-pointers and had seven rebounds and six assists.

Atlanta Hawks (2012–2017)

2012–13 season

On July 16, 2012, Korver was traded to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for cash considerations. In 2012–13, he averaged 10.9 points in 30.5 minutes per game, while recording percentages of.461 FG%,.457 3FG%, and.859 FT%. He finished second in the NBA in three-point percentage and fourth in three-point field goals made with 189. He made at least one three-pointer in his final 73 games of the season, the longest active streak in the NBA at the time, a career-best and the fourth longest streak in league history. In addition, his 189 made threes was the fourth-best single season total in franchise history.

2013–14 season

On July 12, 2013, Korver re-signed with the Hawks to a four-year, $24 million contract. On December 6, 2013, Korver passed the NBA record for most consecutive games with a made three-pointer originally set by Dana Barros. The streak eventually ended at 127 games on March 5, 2014. Korver finished the 2013–14 season with a 47.2 percent three-point shooting percentage which led the NBA. It broke Tyronn Lue's franchise single-season three-point percentage record.

2014–15 season: All-Star selection

On December 15, 2014, Korver passed Jason Richardson for 15th all-time in three-pointers made. Five days later, in the Hawks' 104–97 win over the Houston Rockets, Korver scored a game-high 22 points and made all four of his free-throw attempts. This gave him 49 consecutive made free-throws on the season to set a new Hawks franchise record. The streak ended at 50 in the Hawks' next game against the Dallas Mavericks. On February 10, 2015, Korver received his first NBA All-Star selection as a reserve for the Eastern Conference in the 2015 NBA All-Star Game, replacing the injured Dwyane Wade. At 33 years and 11 months old, he became the fourth-oldest first-time All-Star. On March 11, in a loss to the Denver Nuggets, Korver passed Kobe Bryant for 12th on the all-time three-pointers made list. Four days later in a win over the Los Angeles Lakers, Korver left the game with a broken nose after taking an offensive foul from Ed Davis with 8:59 left in the first half. The injury ended a streak of 51 consecutive games with a three-pointer by Korver, who missed both of his shots from behind the arc. After missing three games with the injury, he returned to action on March 22 against the San Antonio Spurs with protective gear on his face to cover the nose. Despite having the mask on March 31, 2015, Korver made four straight long-range shots, including three 3-pointers, in a 65-second span against the Milwaukee Bucks. Korver led the league in three-point shooting percentage for a third time with a 49.2%, which still stands as an Atlanta Hawks single-season franchise record.
On April 29, 2015, Korver was named the recipient of the Joe Dumars Trophy for winning the 2014–15 NBA Sportsmanship Award. During the 2015 playoffs, Korver suffered a right ankle sprain playing against the Cleveland Cavaliers on May 22 in the Eastern Conference Finals. The following day, he was ruled out for the rest of the playoffs.