MIAMI (AP) — Ryan Kalkbrenner made the first shot of his NBA career. And the second. And the third. And the fourth. And the fifth.
Eventually, he missed. It did happen. It hasn’t happened often.
The Charlotte rookie is now 10 games into his career and he’s shooting 80.8% from the field — 42 for 52. Nobody in NBA history has taken that many shots and been that accurate over the first 10 games of a career.
The previous best, among those with at least 50 shots through their first 10 games in the NBA, was 72% by Houston’s Yao Ming — going 36 for 50. Dallas’ Dereck Lively opened his career at 70.6% through 10 games, 36 for 51.
“It’s just a credit to my teammates who let me get easy looks,” Kalkbrenner said. “I mean, it’s not my role to take tough shots, so of course I’m at a decent percentage, but my teammates do a really good job of finding me on dump-offs when I’m wide open and whatnot. So, I’m just glad I’m able to finish some of them.”
Some of them? Try darn near all of them. He started 5 for 5 from the field in his debut and hasn’t slowed down much since.
“He’s got a great way about him,” Hornets coach Charles Lee said. “His process is on point. He’s worried about trying to impact the game as best as he possibly can.”
On some level, this shouldn’t come as a total surprise. Kalkbrenner didn’t miss much in college, either.
He led the Big East in field-goal percentage in each of the last four years and was a few shots away from winning that title five times — he was second in the Big East in the first season of his five-season college career. He finished college shooting 65.8%; nobody else on the top-200 list in career men’s Division I field goals topped that. Not Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, not Zach Edey, not David Robinson. Nobody.
Kalkbrenner had a 20-for-22 shooting game for Creighton against Texas-Rio Grande Valley last season. The only player in NCAA men’s Division I history with a better shooting game, while taking at least 20 shots, was Bill Walton’s 21-for-22 masterpiece for UCLA in the 1973 national championship game win over Memphis.
But this is the NBA, where the defenders are a lot bigger and the defenses are a lot better than what colleges can offer. Kalkbrenner hasn’t been fazed.
Over a four-game stretch from Oct. 25 through Oct. 30, he went 21 for 22 from the field — eight makes, then a miss, then 13 consecutive makes. The lone miss in that span was a shot that got blocked by Washington’s Alex Sarr. The combined distance of those 21 made shots was about 30 feet; almost all came at the rim.
“I think we knew what we were going to get when we got when we drafted Ryan,” Lee said. “But he continues to impress defensively, contesting at the rim, helping us dominate the paint or protect the paint.”
Kalkbrenner — a second-round pick, No. 34 overall — knows he’s still learning. But it’s clear that the Hornets might have gotten a steal, simply based on how he’s able to finish at the rim.
“Games come fast, and win or lose, you’ve got to be able to turn the page,” Kalkbrenner said. “You can’t get too high when you get a win and play well. You can’t get too low when it’s a bad game and you don’t play well. The games come fast. The next opponent’s not going to feel bad for you because you’re playing bad or had a bad game or whatever.”
The craziest stat of his 10-game start might be this: He’s missed three shots in five games on the road to start his career. He’s shooting an incredible 23 for 25 — 92% — on 2-pointers in road games, with a miss on his lone 3-point try in there as well.
“To be honest with you, I’d rather no one know my name and us be 9-0 or whatever,” Kalkbrenner said. “I mean, I’m glad I’m playing OK. But I just want to win.”
___
Around The NBA analyzes the biggest topics in the NBA during the season.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Basketball Writer
