🏀Front Office2026-27
 
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Luke Kennard

Phoenix Suns · Starter
SG6'5"206 lbage 309 yrs expDukeMiddletown, OH
3rd best of 14 on PHXworth +0.6 wins to the rotation
OFF78DEF73
Elite shooter & interior finisher
PHX
Phoenix Suns
Western · Pacific · proj. 36-46 (▲+3.8)
→

Quite simply one of the best shooters alive — a perfect 100th-percentile marksman who hit 47.8% from three and 91.3% at the line, good for a sparkling 68.9% true shooting. He's a low-usage specialist who won't rebound or protect the rim, but the gravity of that jumper bends a defense by itself. A free agent this offseason.

8.4
PPG
2.3
RPG
2.2
APG
0.7
SPG
0.1
BPG
GP 78MPG 21.6FG% 53.33P% 47.8FT% 91.3TS% 68.9USG% 13.5PER 13.5BPM +0.1VORP 0.9EPM +0.4
2025-26 regular season · bars are percentile at his position

NBA player ratings

0–99 · 2025-26 form
Shooting99
Inside finishing95
Scoring83
Playmaking78
Perimeter defense77
Rebounding66
Rim protection56

Skill ratings are 2025-26 per-game and advanced stats (Basketball-Reference) ranked 0–99 within position (guards vs guards, bigs vs bigs). Overall is anchored to EPM impact on a non-linear curve, nudged by these skills; Offense and Defense come from box plus-minus. A player who missed the latest season is shown from his most recent one.

Career

2017-18 to 2025-26 · 9 seasons
9.6
PPG
2.8
RPG
2.3
APG
538
GAMES
Points 5,169Win Shares 28.1Starts 127Best season 2025-26 · 8.4 ppg
Games played, last three seasons74%

Regular season, 2003-04 onward (Basketball-Reference). Averages are weighted by games played; honours count awards won, not finishes. “Current players” means the 802 who played in the last three seasons.

Trajectory

2023-24 → 2025-26 · age 27 → 29
▬Steady

Luke, at 29, has held steady — 1.9 → 2.9 wins of value over the window.

Age curve▬ On curve
Declining about on schedule for his age.
2026-27 forecast▲ 3.3 wins (+0.4)
Age takes about 0.3 wins off at 30. Range 1.8–4.7 wins.
Production (BPM)-0.3 → +0.1+0.426-27 forecast +0.1
His production has held roughly steady.
2023-24: -0.3 · 39 games2024-25: +1.1 · 65 games2025-26: +0.1 · 78 games2026-27: +0.1 (forecast)23-2425-2626-27
Value to team (wins)1.9 → 2.9+0.926-27 forecast 3.3
His value to a team has been stable.
2023-24: 1.9 · 39 games2024-25: 3.4 · 65 games2025-26: 2.9 · 78 games2026-27: 3.3 (forecast)23-2425-2626-27
Contract value2026-27: worth $7.5M vs $6.5M salary+$1.0M
He is paid about what his play is projected to be worth.
$6.5M salary2023-24: $4.4M · 39 games2024-25: $7.9M · 65 games2025-26: $6.4M · 78 games2026-27: $7.5M (forecast)23-2425-2626-27
Current deal: $6,500,000 cap hit · through '28. On the contract row the flat dashed line is this salary, so the gap to the 2026-27 forecast is the surplus.

Seasons from Basketball-Reference (2023-24 → 2025-26). Production is box plus-minus, a per-possession measure. Value is VORP-based wins, so it also counts games played. Contract value is what each season’s play would fetch on the open market. The dotted 2026-27 point is a forecast: his established level, a year older, assuming a normal season.

Contract

2026-27
$6,500,000Guaranteed
4% of the club’s payroll · 5th of 12 priced deals
Runs through2 seasons
Est. market value$7,452,000 /yr
Surplus+$952,000
FAIR VALUEpaid about what he is worth

Market value is an estimate, not a reported figure: what his play is forecast to fetch on the open market in 2026-27 — his current rating, a year older. Cap thresholds are projected for 2026-27 until the league sets them.

2026-27 off-season

1 move

OFFICIAL means the league’s own records carry the move; AGREED means a trusted insider reported it and the league has not processed it yet. Terms and attribution come from the wire, which is the only source that carries them.

Plays like

same position

Nearest skill profiles across the seven rating axes — who he plays like, not who is as good. The rating beside each name answers that second question.