Corey James Kispert (born March 3, 1999) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Gonzaga Bulldogs The Gonzaga Bulldogs (), also known unofficially as the Zags, are the intercollegiate athletic teams representing Gonzaga University, located in Spokane, Washington, United States. Gonzaga competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association ...

, where he was a consensus first-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

as a senior.

Early life

Kispert grew up in

Edmonds, Washington Edmonds is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is located in the southwest corner of the county, facing Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains to the west. The city is part of the Seattle metropolitan area and is located ...

and attended King's High School. As a junior, he averaged 23.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.3 steals per game, led the team to their second straight state title, and was named the MVP of the State Championship Tournament. Rated a four-star recruit, Kispert committed to play college basketball at

Gonzaga Gonzaga may refer to: Places *Gonzaga, Lombardy, commune in the province of Mantua, Italy *Gonzaga, Cagayan, municipality in the Philippines *Gonzaga, Minas Gerais, town in Brazil *Forte Gonzaga, fort in Messina, Sicily Surname *House of Gonza ...

over Notre Dame after his junior season. Kispert was averaging 25 points per game during his senior year before breaking his foot in February. Kispert said in 2021 that

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

head coach

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

told Kispert he "needed to see Corey play more against top competition before deciding if he could play at Virginia" and that motivated him to "stick it to" Virginia in an early season game; Virginia had recruited Kispert but did not offer him a scholarship before he committed to Gonzaga.

College career

As a true freshman Kispert played in all 35 of Gonzaga's games with seven starts, averaging 6.7 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. He became a starter for the Bulldogs going into his sophomore season, averaging 8.0 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. Kispert entered his junior season on the

Julius Erving Award The Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award is an annual basketball award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top men's collegiate small forward. Following the success of the Bob Cousy Award which had been awarde ...

watchlist and as Gonzaga's only returning starter from the previous year. After scoring less than five points in his previous three games, Kispert scored 28 points and made seven of eight three point attempts on November 28, 2019, against

Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bac ...

in the opening round of the 2019 Battle 4 Atlantis. He scored 26 points with five three pointers made against

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

in a 94–81 victory. At the conclusion of the regular season, Kispert was named to the First Team All-

West Coast Conference The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting o ...

. Kispert averaged 13.9 points per game as a junior. Following the season, he declared for the

2020 NBA draft The 2020 NBA draft was held on November 18, 2020. The draft was originally scheduled to be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on June 25, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was instead conducted at ESPN's facilities in Bristol, Connecticut, wi ...

but did not hire an agent. Kispert ultimately decided to return for his senior season on August 3. Coming into his senior season, Kispert was named to the Preseason All-

team. He scored his 1,000th career point in the season opener against

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

as part of a 23-point performance in the 102–90 victory. On December 26, 2020, Kispert scored a career-high 32 points, tying the school record with nine three-pointers, in a 98–75 win against

. He led Gonzaga to a 31–1 record, its only loss coming against Baylor in the national championship game. Kispert was named WCC Player of the Year and won the Julius Erving Award as the top

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three, is one of the five Basketball position, positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than Power forward (basketball), power forwards and Cent ...

in the nation. As a senior, he averaged 18.6 points and five rebounds per game.

Professional career

On July 29, 2021, Kispert was drafted with the 15th overall pick in the

2021 NBA draft The 2021 NBA draft, the 75th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft, was held on July 29, 2021, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. The NBA draft returned to Brooklyn after 2020 NBA draft, the pre ...

by the

. On August 4, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Wizards. Kispert made his NBA debut on October 22, scoring two points in a 135–134 overtime win over the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

. In his rookie year with the Wizards he averaged 8.2 points per game, in his second year he averaged 11.1 points per game, and in his third year he averaged 13.4 points per game. Kispert is known as an excellent three-point shooter and currently (January 2025) has a 38.2% career three-point percentage. In his second year with the Wizards his three-point percentage was 42.4%, which was 10th best in the league. In a game against the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

on March 31, 2023 he made 9 of 14 three-pointers (64.3%) on the way to scoring 27 points. The 9 three-pointers ties him for 2nd-most three-pointers in a game in franchise history. On October 21, 2024, Kispert and the Wizards agreed to a four–year, $54 million contract extension. In 61 appearances for Washington, he averaged 11.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.7 assists. On March 18, 2025, it was announced that Kispert would miss the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb.

Career statistics

NBA

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Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, 77 , , 36 , , 23.4 , , .455 , , .350 , , .871 , , 2.7 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , .3 , , 8.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 74 , , 45 , , 28.3 , , .497 , , .424 , , .852 , , 2.8 , , 1.2 , , .4 , , .1 , , 11.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , 22 , , 25.8 , , .486 , , .383 , , .726 , , 2.8 , , 2.0 , , .5 , , .2 , , 13.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 61 , , 0 , , 26.3 , , .451 , , .364 , , .852 , , 3.0 , , 1.7 , , .4 , , .2 , , 11.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 292 , , 103 , , 25.9 , , .474 , , .382 , , .805 , , 2.8 , , 1.5 , , .5 , , .2 , , 11.1

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, 35 , , 7 , , 19.4 , , .460 , , .351 , , .667 , , 3.2 , , .7 , , .3 , , .2 , , 6.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, 37 , , 36 , , 26.1 , , .437 , , .374 , , .875 , , 4.1 , , 1.0 , , .6 , , .5 , , 8.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;",

, 33 , , 33 , , 33.0 , , .474 , , .438 , , .810 , , 4.0 , , 2.1 , , .9 , , .4 , , 13.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 32 , , 32 , , 31.8 , , .529 , , .440 , , .878 , , 5.0 , , 1.8 , , .9 , , .4 , , 18.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 137 , , 108 , , 27.4 , , .483 , , .408 , , .824 , , 4.0 , , 1.4 , , .7 , , .4 , , 11.6

Personal life

Kispert is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. While at Gonzaga, Kispert met his girlfriend Jenn Wirth where they both played basketball. The couple got married on July 7, 2023, at the

Mission Basilica San Juan Capistrano Mission Basilica San Juan Capistrano is a Catholic parish in the Diocese of Orange. The parish church is located just northwest of Mission San Juan Capistrano in the city of San Juan Capistrano, California, United States. Completed in 1986, it ...

San Juan Capistrano, California San Juan Capistrano (also known colloquially as San Juan or SJC) is a city in southern Orange County, California, United States. The population was 35,253 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census. Named for Saint John of Capistrano, San Ju ...

References

External links

*
Gonzaga Bulldogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kispert, Corey 1999 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Washington (state) Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball players Sportspeople from Edmonds, Washington Small forwards Sportspeople from the Seattle metropolitan area Washington Wizards draft picks Washington Wizards players 21st-century American sportsmen