Kyle Korver: biography
Born in Lakewood, Kyle Elliot Korver started a basketball career in NBA in 2003, as a rookie of Philadelphia 76ers, which bought rights on him on 2003 NBA Draft. Initially, he was selected by Nets. Over the years Korver was playing for 76ers, Jazz, Bulls, Hawks, and Cavaliers. On July 21, 2019, Kyle, being a free agent, signed a one-year contract at the veteran minimum with the Milwaukee Bucks. He plays at a shooting guard, small and power forward positions.
Korver is one of the greatest 3-point shooters in NBA history. He has led the NBA in it four times. In 16 NBA seasons, Korver has averaged 9.9 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.7 assists while shooting 44.3% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range. Also, Korver is married and has three children. Kyle has a net worth of $30 million, including all of his properties and earnings.
Childhood and youth
The birthplace of Kyle is Lakewood, California. He appeared on March 17, 1981. Kyle was brought up in a family of preachers and basketball players. His parents and three uncles – Karl, Keith, and Ken – played basketball at Pella’s Central College. Another uncle, Kris, played basketball in Orange City. Kyle’s mother once scored 73 points in one game for her high school. His father, Kevin, and grandfather, Harold, were pastors of local churches.
Basketball was central to the way of life in the family. A bowl of popcorn while watching the Showtime Lakers on TV was nightly entertainment for a family that celebrated the height of the storied rivalry with the Celtics. And there were family games. A family meal was not complete without a game.
Kyle first became enamored with the basketball at the age of five. The family went to watch his uncle, Kris, play a high school game. He was inspired by the atmosphere of the match. Korver stood by the court, nervous to even step foot on the surface. He eventually stepped on it – and has been on one nearly every day since – as he fell in love with the basketball.
Korver was in the sixth grade when his family moved to Pella, a picturesque small town 40 miles outside of Des Moines that was dotted with churches, parks, and basketball hoops. His three brothers Klayton, Kaleb and Kirk also played basketball. Kyle was almost ten years older than Kirk, the youngest. The four brothers all would rank in the top 10 in Pella High's all-time scoring and rebounding lists.
College basketball career
In 1999 Kyle entered Creighton University and joined the Creighton Blue Jays. There he spent his entire college basketball career from 1999 to 2003. In his freshman year, Kyle became the most outstanding player of the conference and was named to several symbolic teams of the year. In season 2001-2002 Kyle led Blue Jays in all stats and won MOP award the second time.
He became one of the greatest shooters in NCAA history, set the Creighton and MVC record with 371 career three-pointers. Kyle also ranked 14th in association’s history with 45.3% accuracy and tops among players 6-7 or taller all-time. In 2003 he was a consensus second-team All-American. Before his graduation from college in 2003, Kyle declared for NBA Draft.
Professional basketball career
Philadelphia 76ers (2003 – 2007)
As the second round of the 2003 draft puttered along, the New Jersey Nets watched as teams ahead of them plucked every player in which Nets had an interest. The team was so low on cash, that it considered selling the pick to finance its summer league team. With none of their preferred choices on the board, the Nets brass selected Kyle Korver with the 51st pick.
Kyle was immediately sold to Philadelphia 76ers. The deal cost $125,000. He signed his first NBA professional contract on August 8, 2003. He got a two-year $986,000 contract and joined there NBA star Allen Iverson. In his rookie season, Korver appeared 74 times, scoring 4.5 points per game, according to basketball reference.
In two next seasons, Korver didn’t miss any game. He continued his college tradition and was one of the best three-point shooters of the league, become the best of the season several times. On August 11, 2005, Kyle signed a five-year $22 million contract with Sixers. However, he was traded to the Utah Jazz in exchange for unhappy guard Gordan Giricek and a future first-round draft pick in December 2007.
Utah Jazz (2007 – 2010)
Korver couldn’t become the starting player of Jazz; however, he continued breaking records in three-point throws. He spent 180 games with Utah, scoring 9 points per game. In 2009 he got injured and missed 23 games in season. In 2010 he moved up in the NBA History record book. Korver finished that campaign hitting 53.6 percent of his 3-point shots to secure the NBA's single-season accuracy record.
Chicago Bulls (2010 – 2012)
On July 13, 2010, the Chicago Bulls announced that the team signed free agent forward Kyle Korver. The three-year contract value was estimated at $15 million. The Bulls’ General Manager Gar Forman said:
“We are pleased to welcome Kyle to the Bulls. He will be a great addition to our team, and he will provide another dimension to our offense.”
In his debut season in Chicago, Kyle appeared in all regular games for the third time in his career, but all of them he started on the bench. The Bulls won the regular season and reached the conference finals in the playoff, where future champion Miami Heat defeated them. In season 2011 – 2012 Kyle didn’t show any outstanding, except his game against former team. In March 2012, he completed all 11 attempts of three-point throws.
Atlanta Hawks (2012 – 2017)
On July 12, 2012, Korver was traded to Atlanta from Chicago for cash ($5 million trade exception). Next summer he signed a four-year $24 million contract with Atlanta. Time spent in Atlanta became the best in Kyle’s basketball career. He was three-point field goal percentage leader three playing for Hawks.
Korver was ridiculously accurate with his long-distance three-point shots and helped the Hawks craft an impressive season in the 2014-2015 NBA campaign. On the brink of his 34th birthday, he became an NBA All-Star for the first time in his twelfth season. By that time Korver was averaging 12.7 points for the Hawks on a remarkable 52.3% average from beyond the three-point arc.
Cleveland Cavaliers (2017 – 2018)
In January 2017, the 2016 NBA Champion Cleveland Cavaliers acquired Korver from the Atlanta Hawks. Korver was considered to be a huge addition to that Cavs team. The only legitimate criticism of that trade was that Korver was no longer the same defensive player. Then he had a defensive rating of 106.4, which was in the bottom 25% of the league.
That was odd, though, because in the 2016-17 season he was a key part of the NBA’s best defense in the second half of the season. So, Kyle Korver was not being brought in to play excellent defense. But, he aimed to help LeBron James with his excellent three-point throws. He did it with periodic success but helped Cavaliers to reach the NBA Finals. However, they lost the championship to Warriors. The same happened in 2018.
Utah Jazz (2018 – 2019)
In November 2018, Kyle returned to Jazz. On April 9, 2019, in light of racist events at Jazz home games, Korver wrote an article called “Privileged”. He stunned the sports world by acknowledging the issues of white privilege and racism in his first-person story in The Players’ Tribune. The rousing response to the words of a white player not known for saying much was a necessary reminder that white words matter in the fight against racism and social injustice. It resonated because it was rare to hear from white athletes acknowledging racism and the pain their black teammates go through.
Milwaukee Bucks (2019 – present)
In July 2019, Kyle was traded to Grizzlies. The next day he moved to Suns, which waived him, and Kyle joined NBA free agency. He was one of the hottest free agents remaining in summer 2019 and decided to join the Milwaukee Bucks. Despite his age, the 16-year veteran had a tough choice to make given the multiple suitors that were chasing him.
In the end, he chose to reunite with Mike Budenholzer who was the head coach of the Hawks when Korver made his first and only All-Star appearance in 2015. The sides signed a one-year $2.6 million contract on July 20, 2019. Kyle received $2,56 guaranteed and an annual average salary of $2,56.
Personal life
Korver met his wife, Juliet, in Utah when he played with the Jazz. He was introduced to her by the pastor of her church. Soon, Juliet became his girlfriend. The pair tied the knot in 2011. Korver explained:
“She is an amazing woman, and my career has gone in a whole new trajectory since I met her. She has helped me navigate through some injuries, frustrations, and difficulties. She has been a steady force for me. She speaks truth into me. She challenges me, and she loves me. She is everything I had hoped for in a wife.”
Kyle and Juliet welcomed their first child, baby girl Kyra Elyse, in December 2012. Two years later, Juliet gave birth to their second child, a bouncing baby boy, Knox Elliot. In 2016 Kyle and his wife added a new addition to their family, as the couple welcomed their second son, Koen.
On March 20, 2018, Korver's youngest brother, Kirk, died after a brief illness that caught the family and the doctors by surprise. It was devastating for the close-knit family and the town of Pella.
Korver devotes a lot of time to charity, helping pure and sick children all over the world. He takes part in various programs and opened his own Kyle Korver Foundation. Also, he even released a line of clothes, the funds from the sale of which sends to donations. According to a lot of fans, Kyle Korver looks like Ashton Kutcher. Their similarity became the occasion for numerous jokes.
Awards and honors
NBA:
- 2005 –3-Point Field Goals Leader
- 2007 –Free Throw Percentage Leader
- 2010, 2014, 2015, 2017 –3-Point Field Goal Percentage Leader
- 2014, 2015 – True Shooting Percentage Leader
- 2015 – NBA All-Star Game
- 2015 – Sportsmanship Award
