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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

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 league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

of the

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

(NBA). He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

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 Associatio ...

, where he was a consensus first-team All-American as a senior.

High school career

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 no ...

and attended

King's High School King's High School is a private, interdenominational Christian school, located in Shoreline, Washington, just north of Seattle. It is part of King's Schools. It enrolls approximately 470 students in 9th through 12th grade. 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 People with the surna ...

over

Notre Dame Notre Dame, French for "Our Lady", a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, most commonly refers to: * Notre-Dame de Paris, a cathedral in Paris, France * University of Notre Dame, a university in Indiana, United States ** Notre Dame Fighting Irish, th ...

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 state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

head coach

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his bir ...

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 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 state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...

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 of ...

. 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 ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it was instead conducted at ESPN's facilities in Bristol, Connecti ...

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 state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to ...

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 or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular c ...

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

Professional career

Washington Wizards (2021–present)

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 draft, was held on July 29, 2021, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. With the first overall pick, the Detroit Pistons selected Cade Cunningham. The NB ...

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 league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first est ...

. On March 27, 2022, he scored a career-high 25 points, alongside three assists, in a 123–115 win over the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

. Kispert played in 77 games and started 36 during his rookie campaign, averaging 8.2 points per game.

Career statistics

NBA

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , style="text-align:left;", Washington , 77 , , 36 , , 23.4 , , .455 , , .350 , , .871 , , 2.7 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , .3 , , 8.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 77 , , 36 , , 23.4 , , .455 , , .350 , , .871 , , 2.7 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , .3 , , 8.2

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

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 People from Edmonds, Washington Small forwards Sportspeople from the Seattle metropolitan area Washington Wizards draft picks Washington Wizards players