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In San Antonio, Luke Kornet isn’t preoccupied with dreams of reaching the NBA Finals or crafting a legendary play for his team. His journey began far from the spotlight, with the Westchester Knicks in a modest 5,000-seat arena in White Plains, where the stands were often empty.
“When you talk about playing on the NBA Finals stage, it’s quite different from performing on the literal stage at the Westchester County Center at one end of the court,” Kornet, now a center for the Spurs, remarked on Tuesday at Frost Bank Arena. “Back then, I was focused on carving out a niche for myself, discovering what it meant to be part of the NBA. Those first two years in Westchester were great. We played some really exciting basketball that I fondly remember. The talent level was high, with many young players, and it felt like an extension of college ball. It was a period of significant growth for me. While many players view the G-League as something to escape, I genuinely enjoyed my time there.”
Kornet’s NBA journey began after going undrafted from Vanderbilt in 2017. He then secured a two-way contract with the New York Knicks.
Spending most of his debut season in Westchester, Kornet appeared in 36 games. However, the following season brought new opportunities, allowing him to showcase his skills at the iconic Madison Square Garden.
He spent the bulk of that season in Westchester, appearing in 36 games, but the next year Kornet saw more opportunities at Madison Square Garden.
In the 2018-19 season, Kornet averaged 7.0 points and 2.9 rebounds in 17.0 minutes, while appearing in 46 games (18 starts) for the Knicks, alongside the likes of Kevin Knox, Emmanuel Mudiay and Noah Vonleh on a 17-win team that matched the worst record in team history.
“It’s definitely a cool, full-circle moment playing the Knicks and having started there,” Kornet said. “Now it’s like my third Finals … one of those things that maybe 20 years from now I’ll have a little more perspective on, but for the moment just trying to succeed and win a championship.”
Kornet already has one ring, which he earned with the Celtics in 2024, finally carving out a key role on a team after four brief tenures elsewhere.
Kornet, 30, left Boston for San Antonio last summer after receiving a four-year, $41 million contract as a free agent to serve as Victor Wembanyama’s backup and provide experience on a roster that would become the second-youngest team to reach the NBA Finals since 1954.
Kornet — who recorded a career-high seven blocks against the Knicks in Game 5 of the 2025 Eastern Conference semifinals — has been scrutinized in the postseason for the Spurs’ struggles with Wembanyama off the floor, but the backup recently made the biggest play of his career when he chased down Isaiah Hartenstein for a block late in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals, helping send San Antonio to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2014.
“Someone from the bench yelled, ‘Who is it? LeBron James?’” Kornet said. “We’ll see which one has more staying power in the record books of history.”