Kyle Korver retires to be assistant coach of the Brooklyn Nets

Kyle Korver (Twitter)

Former National Basketball Association All-Star Kyle Korver of Lakewood, California has agreed to be the assistant coach of the Brooklyn Nets for the 2021-22 season according to Dan Feldman of NBC Sports. Korver did not play in the NBA in 2020-21, after playing his final NBA season of 2019-20 with the Milwaukee Bucks.

What is interesting about the Korver hiring by the Nets is the fact he has never formally announced his official retirement. So, one can make the safe and logical assumption that unless Korver is becoming a player-coach with the Nets (which never happens at the highest level of professional sports anymore), he has retired.

For 17 seasons from 2003 to 2020, Korver played with the Philadelphia 76ers, Utah Jazz, Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Bucks primarily at shooting guard or small forward. In 1232 regular season games, he averaged 9.7 points per game, three rebounds per game, and 1.7 assists per game. Korver also had a field goal percentage of .442, a three-point percentage of .429, and a free-throw percentage of .877.

Four times in Korver’s career, he led the NBA in three-point percentage. It was the shooting from beyond the arc is what Korver was best known for in his NBA career. He led the NBA in three-point shooting percentage with the Jazz in 2009-10 (.536), .472 with the Hawks in 2013-14, .492 with the Hawks in his All-Star season of 2014-15, and .451 with the Hawks and Cavaliers in 2016-17. Korver also led the NBA in free-throw shooting at .914 with the 76ers in 2006-07.

The fact that Korver is being hired as an assistant when he is a three-point specialist is a curious one. That is because the Nets head coach is Steve Nash, who was a marvelous three-point shooter and free throw shooter while he starred in the NBA.

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