Nunn faces fresh test despite rookie success
Undrafted guard Kendrick Nunn said he’s ready to build off a productive rookie season, but he will have to compete for playing time after the addition of veteran guard Avery Bradley.
Kendrick Nunn’s rookie season was one of the most productive in Heat history.
The undrafted guard is all over the Heat’s list of rookie records, and he finished second in the voting for the NBA’s Rookie of the Year honor and was named to the All-Rookie first team last season.
“I think it was a wonderful first, rookie season,” Nunn said during a Zoom call with reporters on Tuesday, the first day of Media Week around the NBA. “I learned a lot. I matured and grew as a player and person.”
Nunn, 25, averaged 15.3 points on 43.9 percent shooting from the field and 35 percent shooting on threes, 2.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 29.3 minutes over 67 regular-season games (67 starts) last season.
But as individual workouts at team facilities across the NBA were allowed to begin Tuesday (capped at four players and four coaches/player development personnel at one time to mitigate spread of COVID-19), Nunn was also asked about the struggles that came late in his rookie season.
Life in the Disney bubble wasn’t easy for Nunn. After a COVID-19 diagnosis forced him to arrive at the Disney bubble two weeks later than the rest of the team in July, personal reasons forced him to exit the bubble for a few days just before the start of the playoffs.
Nunn, who started in each of his 67 appearances during the regular season, was moved to the bench at the start of the playoffs and even found himself out of the rotation at times during postseason.
Nunn’s role diminished in the playoffs, averaging 6.1 points on 39.1 percent shooting from the field, 2.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 15 games (zero starts).
“As for the ups and downs, I had to fight through some adversity,” said Nunn, who recently had his $1.7 million salary for the upcoming season fully guaranteed. “I also had some success. So I think I had an overall good rookie year, and I’m looking to build and continue to improve and do more.”
Nunn enters his second NBA season with some uncertainty surrounding his role.
After playing as a fulltime starter for most of his rookie season, Nunn will have to compete for a consistent role after Miami added Avery Bradley and brought back Goran Dragic in free agency this offseason to a group of Heat guards that already included rising star Tyler Herro.
“It’s the NBA we’re in, so it’s always competitive,” Nunn said. “Each day, you got to put in rent. Rent is due every day. It’s always competitive. Guys are looking to compete. It’s the highest level, so I’ll definitely have to compete.”
With center Meyers Leonard also still on the roster, coach Erik Spoelstra will have the option to use the same starting lineup that worked so well for the Heat last season.
The starting group of Nunn, Jimmy Butler, Duncan Robinson, Bam Adebayo and Leonard posted a plus/minus of plus-121 last season, which was the fifth-best plus/minus in the NBA among five-man lineups. But the NunnButler-Robinson-AdebayoLeonard lineup was not used in the playoffs.
“I think there are a lot of options we can go to with this team because we’re deep, and each guy is ready to go and will step up and play any role that coach asks,” Nunn said. “So I think with the players that we have, the lineup can vary. It’s going to be competitive. Guys are going to be fighting for that spot come training camp. We just have to be ready, and definitely get back to playing winning basketball. That’s our goal. To get back to the Finals. Whichever lineup that is and helps us win, that’s what coach is going to go with.”
But last season doesn’t mean much with a new one about to begin, as the Heat and teams around the league are allowed to begin group practices on Sunday in preparation for the 2020-21 season.
“I think that the accolades and the success I had the previous season really don’t matter this upcoming season because there’s an X on our back now,” Nunn said. “We’ve been to the Finals and some guys had success, so every game is going to be much tougher than last season and we have to know that. We’ll just be ready and prepared for that.”
Nunn said he worked on his catch-and-shoot and off-the-ball game, and also focused on becoming a better defender this offseason. He shot 34.7 percent
on catch-and-shoot threes last season, behind teammates Robinson (46 percent on catch-and-shoot threes), Herro (44.2 percent), Kelly Olynyk (41.8 percent), Leonard (41 percent) and Dragic (35.4 percent).
“Just learning how to be a lead guard and a playmaker. To lead the team,” Nunn said. “That’s one of my jobs as a guard and as a point guard, to get guys involved and use my strength and play to my strengths, which is scoring, as well. Just play winning basketball and just improving all areas of my game, and defensively.”
Nunn didn’t have too much time to work on his game during this condensed offseason, though. The Heat’s season ended in the NBA Finals on Oct. 11, and the COVID-19 pandemic-shortened 72game regular season is scheduled to begin just a little more than two months later on Dec. 22.
“The offseason obviously has been a bit different, a little shorter,” Nunn said. “But I’ve been putting in nonstop work. So I took a little time off after the Finals, just to get my body recovered and things like that. But I was right back to work. It was a short offseason. The season starts next week, in a week or two, so definitely got to be ready for that.”
Nunn, who experienced and recovered from COVID-19 during the summer, is also preparing for the challenges that come with playing a season — outside of a quarantine bubble — in the middle of a pandemic.
“Obviously, it’s a contagious virus and you can catch it again after catching it once, so you have to be cautious there and just follow protocol and things like that, and social distancing,” he said. “Quarantine still is in effect. So it’s about safety. I mean, I’ve had it previously, but I’m scared to catch it again. So I got to follow the protocol.”