Corey Kispert made sizable leap in second NBA season

Kispert made sizable leap in second NBA season originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

WASHINGTON -- Corey Kispert became one of the league's most efficient 3-point shooters this season, just his second in the NBA. Though it was known he had the potential to reach this point, getting here so quickly was arguably a surprise. Of the 10 players with the highest 3-point percentages in 2022-23, only Tyrese Maxey (22) is younger than Kispert (23).

"Honestly, I expected it earlier," Kispert said. "I always have known how good of a shooter I was and I struggled so much last year when I wasn't shooting well. It's like who you are is being stripped from you. I've always shot the ball well."

Kispert believes a big reason why he raised his 3-point clip to 42.4% this season from 35.0% his rookie year was how he dealt with those lulls. He managed his slumps better by reminding himself he was taking high percentage shots and that it was good for the team when he shot them, regardless of whether they went in. He also got better at putting bad games behind him.

The results speak for themselves. Kispert carried his elite 3-point percentage while also leading the Wizards in total threes made (163). In part because a large portion of his attempts (65.6%) were from 3-point range, Kispert posted the highest effective field goal percentage (63.7) for any player in franchise history who averaged at least 10 points per game in a season.

Kispert can make a significant impact while rarely having the ball. He averaged just 1 1/2 seconds per touch this season, quickest on the Wizards. That's because when he gets the ball he either shoots it with a quick release or keeps it moving by passing to a teammate.

Kispert is especially good at shooting off the catch. He made 42.9% of his threes on catch-and-shoot plays this year, the highest of any player with at least 350 attempts.

Kispert made his shots from all over the perimeter. He shot 50% on threes from the left corner, 47.4% from the right corner and 40% above the break. He was lethal from every zone.

Those are the types of numbers that give Kispert the confidence to keep shooting, even when his shots aren't falling.

"Whenever I did, it was a good thing for our team. Reminding myself of that over and over again kind of helped me feel confident," he said.

"All of a sudden, when you catch that ball and it has that energy, you feel great about it. That hoop just seems a little bit wider. The ball goes in more often and it did. For me personally, behind the arc, this year was a huge success in all facets; moving, catch-and-shoot, dribbling. On and off the ball it was a success."

Now Kispert will hope to build off his strong second NBA season by making another leap this summer. This particular offseason will be structured a bit differently, though, because he's getting married in July. Kispert is engaged to Jenn Wirth, who like him was a star college basketball player at Gonzaga.

Usually, Kispert would take a large chunk of time off to begin the summer. This time he is starting with a short break with plans for a longer reset around the time of his wedding. He will then use August as a "runway" to get back into game shape.

As for what Kispert plans to work on, he cited flexibility and movement on the defensive end and shot creation. Kispert aims to be a more reliable defender and scale his 3-point shooting volume upward. He averaged 11.1 points per game this season, fourth on the Wizards, but that could increase if he takes and makes more threes. Despite ranking top-10 in percentage, Kispert was 75th in 3-point attempts per game (5.2).

Kispert also knows defenses are likely to treat him differently after the numbers he put up this season, so the way he gets his shots may have to change.

"Excuse my language, but I'm an 'oh s--- guy.' What I mean by that, is when the ball gets passed to me and I'm ready to shoot, teams are like 'oh s---.' So every team is going to be running me off the line and I have to create shots off of that," he said.

Kispert mentioned utilizing pick-and-rolls and dribble hand-offs more often. He hopes to sharpen his ball-handling so he can attack the rim more effectively on catch-and-gos.

If all goes according to plan, Kispert will take another noticeable step forward.

"The more reps I get at that, the more time I spend in the offseason the more comfortable I will be. You guys will be, and I think you saw it in the last 10 games or so, you'll be surprised what I can do with the ball in my hands," he said.