Journeyman center Luke Kornet left the Boston Celtics during free agency to join the San Antonio Spurs on a four-year, $41 million deal. Switching from New England to Texas also meant a change in jersey number, as he replaced his No. 40 jersey with a single-digit No. 7.

Kornet humorously explained his choice during his introductory press conference:
“I’ve never worn the number before. Honestly for me, I feel like I’m in a time of life where me and my family, seven is a big number of covenant and fulfillment and order and the faith. That’s kind of what called me to it. The secondary reason was I just hope to be a third of the player that Tim Duncan was.”
Duncan, a legendary figure in Spurs history, led the team to five NBA championships and was a two-time MVP, having donned the number 21 throughout his illustrious career.

Kornet, standing at 7'2", hopes that achieving even a third of Duncan’s titles will secure his place in the Spurs’ legacy.

“I love multiples, factors,” Kornet noted. “Break it all down.”

Kornet expressed gratitude for his time in Boston: “I’m grateful for all the time I had in Boston. I feel like it was really an appropriate place. But I just kind of felt led, and I feel like throughout the process I just felt like San Antonio was really the place that had everything we’d hope for and felt peaceful in it.”