Kyle Korver

Early life

Korver was born in Paramount, California and is the oldest of four children of Kevin and Laine Korver. He grew up in the Los Angeles area, and was a Los Angeles Lakers fan as a child. Watching Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and the Showtime Lakers instilled a love of basketball in Korver that made him want to pursue it himself. He moved with his family to Iowa in 1993 and graduated from Pella High School.

College career

As a freshman at Creighton, Korver was named to the MVC All-Bench, All-Freshman and All-Newcomer teams after he averaged 8.8 points per game while hitting 43.4 percent from three-point range and 89.5 percent at the free-throw line.

As a sophomore, Korver earned All-MVC second team honors while leading the conference tournament champion Bluejays with 14.6 points per game. He was also named to the MVC All-Tournament team.

As a junior, Korver led the Bluejays to both the Missouri Valley Conference regular season and conference tournament championships. He was then named MVC Player of the Year and an honorable mention All-American. As a senior, Korver again earned MVC Player of the Year and first team All-MVC honors. He was also a consensus second-team All-American and a finalist for the Wooden, Naismith, and Oscar Robertson awards.

Korver finished his career at Creighton fourth all-time in scoring (1,801) and first in three-pointers made (371), three-point percentage (45.3), and free-throw percentage (89.1). His 371 career made three-pointers is an MVC record and tied for sixth most in NCAA history. Korver also holds Creighton single-season records for three-pointers made (129), three-point percentage (.480), and free-throw percentage (.908).

Korver graduated with a bachelor's degree in visual communications.

Philadelphia 76ers (2003–2007)

Korver was selected with the 51st overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft by the New Jersey Nets. His draft rights were traded later that night to the Philadelphia 76ers for $125,000. On August 8, 2003, he signed a two-year deal with the 76ers. Korver finished his rookie season averaging 4.1 points in 11.9 minutes per game.

Korver finished the 2004–05 season tied for the NBA league leader in three-pointers made with 226, which also marked a 76ers franchise record.

On August 2, 2005, Korver re-signed with the 76ers to a six-year, $25 million contract. Korver scored a career-high 31 points against the Milwaukee Bucks on February 24, 2006, and duplicated that performance on February 21, 2007 against the New York Knicks. He averaged a career-high 14.4 points per game during the 2006–07 season, and led the NBA in free-throw percentage with 91.4 percent.

Utah Jazz (2007–2010)

On December 29, 2007, Korver was traded to the Utah Jazz in exchange for Gordan Giriček and a future first-round draft pick.

Korver spent two and a half seasons in Utah, mostly coming off the bench as the team's sixth man. Korver finished the 2009–10 season hitting 53.6 percent of his three-point shots to secure the NBA's single-season accuracy record. He drilled 59-of-110 three-pointers, edging the record percentage of .524 that Steve Kerr set in 1994–95. Korver played in just 52 games for the Jazz in 2009–10, but his spot-on shooting surged after he finally returned fully healthy after the All-Star break, having struggled with wrist and knee issues following surgeries to both in 2009.

Chicago Bulls (2010–2012)

On July 13, 2010, Korver signed with the Chicago Bulls. In 2010–11, Korver, for the third time in his career, appeared in 82 games (all coming off the bench), and averaged 8.3 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 20.1 minutes (.434 FG%, .415 3FG%, .885 FT%). The Bulls finished first in the Eastern Conference in 2011, and advanced to the Conference Finals where they were defeated by the Miami Heat 4–1.

On March 10, 2012, Korver arguably had his best game as a Bull, recording 26 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists in a 111–97 win over his former team, the Utah Jazz.

2012–13 season

On July 16, 2012, Korver was traded to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for cash considerations. In 2012–13, he averaged 10.9 points in 30.5 minutes per game, while recording percentages of .461 FG%, .457 3FG%, and .859 FT%. He finished second in the NBA in three-point percentage and fourth in three-point field goals made with 189. He made at least one three-pointer in his final 73 games of the season, the longest active streak in the NBA at the time, a career-best and the fourth longest streak in league history (Dana Barros 89, Michael Adams 79, Dennis Scott 78). In addition, his 189 made threes was the fourth-best single season total in franchise history.

2013–14 season

On July 12, 2013, Korver re-signed with the Hawks to a four-year, $24 million contract. On December 6, 2013, Korver passed the NBA record for most consecutive games with a made three-pointer (90) originally set by Dana Barros (89). The streak eventually ended at 127 games on March 5, 2014. Korver finished the 2013–14 season with a 47.2 percent three-point shooting percentage which led the NBA.

2014–15 season

On December 15, 2014, Korver passed Jason Richardson for 15th all-time in three-pointers made. Five days later, in the Hawks' 104–97 win over the Houston Rockets, Korver scored a game-high 22 points and made all four of his free-throw attempts. This gave him 49 consecutive made free-throws on the season to set a new Hawks franchise record. The streak ended at 50 in the Hawks' next game against the Dallas Mavericks. On February 10, 2015, Korver received his first NBA All-Star selection as a reserve for the Eastern Conference in the 2015 NBA All-Star Game, replacing the injured Dwyane Wade. At 33 years and 11 months old, he became the fourth-oldest first-time All-Star. On March 11, in a loss to the Denver Nuggets, Korver passed Kobe Bryant for 12th on the all-time three-pointers made list. Four days later, in a win over the Los Angeles Lakers, Korver left the game with a broken nose after taking an offensive foul from Ed Davis with 8:59 left in the first half. The injury ended a streak of 51 consecutive games with a three-pointer by Korver, who missed both of his shots from behind the arc. After missing three games with the injury, he returned to action on March 22 against the San Antonio Spurs with protective gear on his face to cover the nose.

On April 29, 2015, Korver was named the recipient of the Joe Dumars Trophy for winning the 2014–15 NBA Sportsmanship Award. During the 2015 playoffs, Korver suffered a right ankle sprain playing against the Cleveland Cavaliers on May 22 in the Eastern Conference Finals. The following day, he was ruled out for the rest of the playoffs.

2015–16 season

On November 6, 2015, Korver scored 22 points, hitting all eight of his shots, including four from three-point range, as the Hawks won their sixth straight with a 121–115 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. On December 26, in a win over the New York Knicks, Korver hit one three-pointer and passed Rashard Lewis for ninth place on the all-time list for three-pointers made. However, his late December shooting slump marked one of the worst shooting stretches of his career. In four games between December 23–29, Korver shot 5-of-33 from the field and a woeful 2-of-27 from three-point range. Korver continued to struggle with his shot in January, missing all six of his shots on January 31 against the Miami Heat, marking just the third time in his career that he went 0-of-6 or worse as a starter. Over 47 games to begin the season, his 42% field goal shooting was the worst it had been since the 2004–05 season, and his 37% three-point shooting was a career-low success rate.

2016–17 season

On December 16, 2016, Korver scored a season-high 19 points and hit a season-high six three-pointers in a 125–121 win over the Toronto Raptors. The win gave the Hawks a 13–13 record after 26 games; they began the season 9–2. He set a new season high on December 30, scoring 22 points in 29 minutes off the bench in a 105–98 win over the Detroit Pistons.

Cleveland Cavaliers (2017–present)

On January 7, 2017, Korver was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Mike Dunleavy, Mo Williams, cash considerations and a protected future first round draft pick. He made his debut for the Cavaliers three days later, recording two points and three rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench in a 100–92 loss to the Utah Jazz. Korver went 2-of-10 over his first two games for the Cavaliers, with both games resulting in losses. On January 13, he scored 18 points off the bench to help the Cavaliers defeat the Sacramento Kings 120–108. On February 1, he had his best game as a Cavalier, scoring 20 points off the bench on 8-of-11 from the field with four three-pointers in a 125–97 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. On February 8, Korver scored a season-high 29 points on 10-of-12 from the field and 8-of-9 from the three-point line in a 132–117 win over the Indiana Pacers. He subsequently passed Jason Kidd (1,988) for seventh on the all-time three-pointers made list. A week later, on February 15, also against the Pacers, Korver became the seventh player in NBA history to make 2,000 career three-pointers, joining Ray Allen, Reggie Miller, Jason Terry, Paul Pierce, Vince Carter, and Jamal Crawford. On April 4, 2017, he returned after missing 11 games with a sore left foot and scored 11 points in 12 minutes in a 122–102 win over the Orlando Magic. Korver helped the Cavaliers go 12–1 over the first three rounds of the playoffs to reach the 2017 NBA Finals. There they faced the Golden State Warriors and were defeated in five games.

On July 12, 2017, Korver re-signed with the Cavaliers.

NBA

NCAA

Personal life

Korver has three brothers, Kirk, Kaleb, and Klayton, all of whom have played Division I basketball. Klayton was a guard/forward for the Drake Bulldogs while Kaleb was a guard for the Creighton Bluejays. Kirk currently plays forward at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. His mother Laine played high-school basketball and once scored 74 points in a game. Korver's father, Kevin, is a pastor in Pella, Iowa. Korver's uncle, Kris Korver, is the head basketball coach at Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa. His cousin Kari Korver plays for the UCLA Bruins women's basketball team.

Korver married Juliet Richardson on August 10, 2011. Their daughter, Kyra Elyse, was born on December 5, 2012. His wife delivered their first boy, Knox Elliot, on October 4, 2014. Their second son, Koen, was born in November 7, 2016.

Korver is a Christian. Korver has spoken about his faith in Jesus saying, "He is the one who came and paid for my sins that I may get to heaven someday and be with Him. He is my example. He’s my everything."

Korver has his own charitable foundation, called the "Kyle Korver Foundation", which contributes to many philanthropic causes. He held a coat drive while with the 76ers, where he collected and donated coats to kids in need. Korver added a new line of clothing called "Sheer Outfitters" that is connected with his foundation KKF to help the underprivilaged children. In 2013, he started an annual sock drive in October called the "Socktober Drive" in which he collects socks to donate to homeless people in Atlanta. Korver has also participated in the NBA's Basketball Without Borders outreach program in Africa, China, Brazil, and India.