2. Brook Lopez
Prior to the 2016-17 NBA regular season, it would have been irrational to include Brook Lopez on this list. In his ninth NBA season, however, Lopez made an incredible tweak to his game by becoming a legitimate threat from beyond the arc.
Having made that remarkable progress as a three-point shooter, Lopez has thus become the perfect center for Luke Kornet to pattern his game after.
Lopez made a grand total of three three-point field goals over the course of his first eight NBA seasons. Despite that general disregard of the outside shot, he came back and buried 134 three-point field goals during 2016-17 alone.
Lopez’s offense is still based in the low post, where Kornet has the size to become an effective scorer, but the development of his three-ball is quite compelling.
Defensively, Lopez has never been the most overwhelming force, but he’s an excellent shot-blocker. He boasts career averages of 1.7 blocks per game and 1.9 blocks per 36 minutes, which has helped him overcome the same flaw that Kornet possesses: Rebounding.
Kornet isn’t being projected as an All-Star, but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be patterning himself after a player who has achieved that status.