Ridiculous Luke Kornet stat proves the Spurs front office struck gold yet again

The San Antonio Spurs signed center Luke Kornet as a solid pickup, but his performance has far exceeded expectations thus far. Thanks to early-season injuries to Jeremy Sochan and Victor Wembanyama, he was able to establish himself and hasn't looked back.

In 22 starts this season, the Silver and Black are an impressive 18-4 with Kornet. And while he is only averaging 8.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks in 25.9 minutes in those starts, his stats don't tell the full story.

Per NBA.com, Kornet ranks third in the league in screen assists, meaning that him setting hard screens has often led directly to a Spurs basket. That only goes to show that having a big man who can set solid picks is a competitive advantage. It's also something that has been a bedrock of San Antonio's offense over the years.

Luke Kornet has been the perfect free agent signing for the Spurs

Credit to Spurs GM Brian Wright for making signing Kornet a top priority and locking him up on a team-friendly 4-year, partially guaranteed $41 million deal. That ensures that Wembanyama will have a terrific backup for the foreseeable future.

It also means that San Antonio has a big man who can start in case of injury and move the needle. It's not a coincidence that this team was as good as they were with Kornet starting. After all, he does all of the small things that many centers should do but often don't.

Pairing him with De'Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle has definitely helped both players. Kornet effectively takes their defenders out of the play when setting a pick, freeing them to get into the paint and collapse the defense.

Luke Kornet can impact the game without dominating the ball

He has also given San Antonio their best roll man since Jakob Poeltl. What sets him apart is that he is a lob threat, having caught 25 alley-oops and counting, primarily with Stephon Castle setting him up.

Even without finishing alley-oops, Kornet is shooting a blistering 64.9% from the field. He is even a good free throw shooter, unlike Poeltl, with him hitting 79.3% of his attempts this season.

That's incredibly valuable to the Spurs, with him being able to finish any pass that is thrown his way and also prevent teams from hacking him and sending him to the free throw line.

However, aside from his screen setting, his offensive rebounding remains his most valuable skill. Per 36 minutes, he averages 4.8 offensive rebounds, which leads the team by a wide margin.

Generating second-chance points has been an underrated weapon for San Antonio this season, with Kornet leading the charge. Considering that San Antonio ranks just 21st in 3-point percentage, he has had plenty of opportunities to crash the offensive glass.

That has helped San Antonio weather their shooting struggles without him even putting up shots. As does his elite screen setting.