Victor Wembanyama's backup Luke Kornet jokingly accepts LeBron James comparison after chasedown block in Game 7
It’s unenviable job to be the guy who takes the court every time Victor Wembanyama has to sit, but Luke Kornet has dutifully filled that role this season. However, he got his star moment in the San Antonio Spurs’ Game 7 win on Saturday.
Here was the situation with 6:48 left in the fourth quarter: The Spurs were up by by six but the Oklahoma City Thunder had just scored five points. More importantly, Wembanyama picked up his fifth foul and needed to come out.
In came Kornet, who had a risky feed from Spurs rookie Dylan Harper poked away by Thunder big man Isaiah Hartenstein.
Hartenstein got the ball and got past Harper, with a seemingly clear path to cut the deficit to two. But then Kornet — all 7-foot-1, 250 pounds of him — rushed down the court for the chasedown block of his life.
The Thunder didn’t get closer than six points for the rest of the game, with Wembanyama coming in soon after.
Kornet’s block was arguably the play of the game, as it took the air out of the Thunder’s last real chance to make it a game. It was also a momentum-swinging chasedown block in a Game 7, meaning the LeBron James comparisons were clear.
Someone on Kornet’s bench was well aware of the similarity, as the big man told reporters before showing off some dry humor.
“I did a poor job of getting the catch, so then I had to redeem myself,” Kornet said. “Someone from the bench yelled, ‘Who is it? LeBron James?’ We’ll see which one has more staying power in the record books of history.”
The NBA all-time scoring leader’s block of Andre Iguodala in the 2016 NBA Finals remains the defining moment of his career. So now he and Kornet have something in common.
Kornet was an undrafted player who played for five different teams before landing with the Spurs last summer on a four-year, $41 million contract. He averaged 6.5 points on 64.3% shooting plus 6.1 rebounds in 68 games during the regular season, which included 25 starts.
