It was a bounceback season of sorts for third-year power forward Frank Kaminsky as he finished the 2017-18 NBA campaign with the best shooting percentages of his professional career thus far.
Coming off an up-and-down sophomore season from an efficiency standpoint, Kaminsky hit the ground running this year with 18-or-more points in three of the team’s first four contests. Much like any young player, consistency continued to be the biggest challenge for Kaminsky in the first half of the season, although he was capable of getting hot on any given night for the Hornets.
Much like last season, the Wisconsin product’s best play of the year came after the All-Star Break as he posted averages of 12.2 points on 46.8 percent shooting (48.8 percent from three), 3.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 25 appearances as a reserve from Feb. 22-April 10. Kaminsky ranked seventh in the Eastern Conference in bench scoring and tied for sixth in bench three-point field goals per game (1.6) during this stretch.
Throughout the season, Kaminsky’s strengths lied in his ability as a seven-footer to knock down spot-up three-point attempts, handle the ball, facilitate and communicate defensively. He averaged just 0.8 turnovers per game (down from 1.0 in 2016-17) and also recorded a career-low 1.2 personal fouls per outing as well.
Heading into his fourth NBA season, the Hornets will hope to see Kaminsky continue emerging as one of the better bench scorers in the league while also building on his overall consistency on a night-to-night basis.
Frank Kaminsky Through the Season
Check out scenes of Frank Kaminsky during the 2017-2018 Season.
By the Numbers
- Kaminsky averaged 11.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 23.2 minutes over 79 games this season, which included four starts. He also shot personal bests from the field (42.9 percent), three-point range (38.0 percent) and the free-throw line (79.9 percent).
- He established a new career high with six three-point fields in a road win over the Washington Wizards on Feb. 23. Kaminsky became just the fifth different player in franchise history to hit at least six three-pointers off the bench in a single game, joining Dell Curry, Ben Gordon, Troy Daniels and Marco Belinelli.
- Kaminsky is one of seven seven-footers in NBA history to shoot at least 37.5 percent or better on at least 250 three-point attempts in a single NBA season. Others to accomplish this feat include Dirk Nowitzki, Marc Gasol and Karl-Anthony Towns.
- • After draining 104 three-point field goals this season, Kaminsky now sits in 10th place on the franchise’s all-time leaderboard (288). Only D.J. Augustin (289) has accounted for more three-point field goals in his first three career NBA seasons while playing for Charlotte.
What’s Next
Kaminsky is entering the final year of his rookie contract and is now eligible for an extension this offseason. If he is not extended by the November deadline, he will become a restricted free agent at the conclusion of the 2018-19 season. As long as the Hornets submit a predetermined qualifying offer to Kaminsky (if need be next offseason), they would have the ability to match any offers he receives from other teams.
Exit Interview Quote
“I feel like I was able to take steps forward with a bigger role. Obviously, this year did not go as expected for not only me, but for our team as a whole. I don’t really like to think about individual statistics and things like that. I’ve always judged basketball on a team level. We had more losses than wins this year and that’s something that’s going to sit on my mind all offseason.” – Frank Kaminsky