Stephen A. Smith Compares Luke Kornet to Celtics Great

The late Bill Walton has been remembered plenty over the last few months since passing in November, but few probably saw Luke Kornet being the reason for why he came up in conversation this week.

Walton, who was the NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 1986 and won a championship with the Boston Celtics that season, was brought up by ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith on First Take in recapping the defending champs avoiding elimination through Wednesday’s 127-102 Game 5 win over the New York Knicks.

“God rest his soul, Mr. Bill Walton. I mean, the man passed away. I didn’t know he had a twin,” Smith said, referring to Kornet. “What the hell was that? He looked like his twin. Five blocked shots in the third quarter!”

Kornet provided a game-changing spark and actually started the second half in place of an ineffective Kristaps Porzingis, playing the entire third quarter and adding four points and five rebounds in addition to throwing a block party. Kornet finished with 10 points, nine boards and seven blocks in 25:38.

Although Kornet channeling Walton is definitely a stretch, Smith fearing for his beloved Knicks due to the eighth-year forward’s emergence wasn’t entirely out of bounds since the impact was similar. It was just one game, but Kornet’s activity on both ends of the floor was something New York had no answer for, particularly with All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns struggling through a lackluster performance. 

Walton, who was the NBA Finals MVP and won his first title with the Portland Trail Blazers, joined Boston after having his career torpedoed by injuries and had a memorable and rewarding final chapter as a key reserve. Kornet isn’t going to be a Hall of Famer, but he has a chance to do something special if he can continue his impact in helping reverse a 3-1 series deficit. 

Kornet actually entered the NBA after winning a roster spot with New York in 2017 after going undrafted out of Vanderbilt. He won a title with Boston last season and is the son of Frank Kornet, who played with the Milwaukee Bucks from 1989-91 after being the 30th pick of the ‘89 draft.

Tony Mejia is a contributor to Back In the Day NBA. He can be reached at tnyce1414@gmail.com