Milwaukee Bucks: Kyle Korver’s underrated passing ability will be valuable

Having already offered glimpses of it in preseason, Kyle Korver‘s underrated passing could offer a meaningful boon for the Milwaukee Bucks.

Since signing with the Milwaukee Bucks, and for the majority of his NBA career, the conversation surrounding Kyle Korver has focused on his shooting ability.

That’s certainly more than understandable, and valid, given Korver’s status as one of the greatest jump shooters ever to play the game, but it also leads to many other elements that have made him a stellar NBA player over the years being overlooked.

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It’s true that Korver’s shooting, and the immense and rare threat it poses to opposing defenses, offers a platform for many of the other wrinkles in the 37-year-old’s game to shine too, but that doesn’t make them undeserving of closer consideration in their own right.

One such component in Korver’s game that fits that bill is his passing, and it’s one that Bucks fans have already got a much closer look at through his first three preseason contests wearing a Milwaukee jersey.

Another reason why Korver’s passing may not get the kind of attention it merits is that it differs from the kind of playmaking that more often earns plaudits in the NBA.

Korver is not a dynamic, attacking initiator in the mold of the league’s best point guards and point forwards, nor is he a skilled passing big who excels at reading angles and passing over defenders. The truth, though, is that his brand of passing is closer to the latter, even as his own physical profile more closely resembles the players in the former category.

The former Creighton Bluejay leverages outstanding vision and great timing to find teammates, and demonstrates sound judgement in knowing when to give up the ball too.

So much of Korver’s passing is built around the eagerness of his teammates to get the ball to him, and the subsequent panic in the defense as the ball swings his way. If the defender doesn’t close out quickly enough, Korver ends up with an open shot where the odds are very much stacked in his favor when it comes to making it. When the defender does get into Korver’s space to prevent a high quality shot, that’s when Korver’s passing really comes into its own.

The scrambling effect his insertion into the game instigates obviously leads to higher quality shots for both him and his teammates, but it also allows Korver to make very simple, yet clinical passes.

To date, Korver has played three preseason games as a Buck, and a total of 44 minutes, and dished out a promising early return of seven assists to zero turnovers in that time.

With the talent the Bucks have at their disposal, Korver will have plenty of opportunities to build on that over the course of the year, particularly in being paired alongside Giannis.

Korver’s not going to dazzle with his overall assist totals, but he’ll be crucial in keeping the ball moving when he’s on the floor, will find his teammates for easy points, and I’d bet continue to surprise Bucks fans with the variety of ways in which he’ll contribute over the course of the year.