Undrafted point guard Kendrick Nunn has begun his Miami Heat career on a record pace, scoring more points in his first five games than anyone but Kevin Durant and Jerry Stackhouse in the last 25 years.
His 28 point performance against the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday night pushed his points total to 112, six more points than LeBron James had through five games when he took his talents to South Beach.
Nunn, 24, began his career with 24 points against Memphis on Oct. 23 and has not stopped shooting since — scoring at least 24 points three times in Miami’s first five games.
Despite going undrafted, Nunn has outperformed the last 26 No. 1 picks in points — trailing only Shaquille O’Neal, Elvin Hayes, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and David Robinson through their first five career games.
“It comes from hard work, most definitely,” Nunn said after the Heat’s 106-97 win over the Hawks on Thursday. “My faith in Jesus Christ and just hard work, letting it all out on the floor.”
The 6-foot-2 went undrafted in 2018 after spending three years at Illinois and one at Oakland University. Nunn was dismissed from Illinois in 2016 after pleading guilty to misdemeanor domestic battery.
Nunn signed a contract with the Golden State Warriors in July of 2018 but was waived three months later. The Heat snapped up Nunn over the summer, signing him to a 3-year, $3,1 million dollar deal.