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Luke Kornet moves on from the Boston Celtics as he begins the next chapter of his NBA career with the San Antonio Spurs. And he has a Tim Duncan reason behind the decision of his jersey number.
Kornet signed with the Spurs this offseason, leaving the Celtics after four consecutive seasons. He played a solid role off the bench as he helped the team win the 2024 NBA championship.
Kornet wore the No. 40 jersey with Boston, but with San Antonio, he will don the No. 7 jersey. He explained how Duncan played a role behind the jersey number during his introductory press conference on Monday.
“I just hope to be a third of the player that Tim Duncan was,” Kornet said.
“I just hope to be a third of the player that Tim Duncan was.”
Luke Kornet on why he chose to wear No. 7 with the Spurs 🫡👏
(via @spurs) pic.twitter.com/FCUGfU0iki
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 8, 2025
What's next for Luke Kornet, Spurs
Luke Kornet is excited to be a member of the Spurs, especially after landing the biggest contract of his career.
He deserved the contract, too. Kornet proved himself to be a solid rotational piece for the Celtics, providing remarkable efficiency inside the paint while being an effective shot-blocker.
Throughout the 235 total appearances he made with Boston, he averaged 4.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. He shot 65.4% from the field and 77.4% from the free-throw line.
The Spurs certainly view him to assist Victor Wembanyama and the squad to improve their talent on both sides of the ball. San Antonio begins a new era as head coach Gregg Popovich retired from coaching as he embraced a front office role.
In other words, Mitch Johnson will be responsible for navigating the Spurs through the Wembanyama era as they look to make the playoffs. They haven't done that since the 2019 postseason, which they aspire to achieve as they boast plenty of young talents on the roster for next season.
