Kobe Bufkin has yet to score double-digit points this season. However, a recent trend offers encouragement that he can have a strong positive impact without scoring a large sum of points.
His “big play” in the Hawks’ win over the Charlotte Hornets underscored that.
With the Hawks clinging to a 1-point lead to start the fourth quarter after the Hornets battled back from an 11-point deficit, Bufkin stole the ball from Hornets guard K.J. Simpson. Simpson fouled Bufkin, sending the second-year guard to the free throw line.
“You guys asked me about Kobe's offense all the time. And I've said it, and I'll stay consistent with it: When you come off the bench, your offense sometimes comes and sometimes doesn't because you don't know how many opportunities you're going to get,” Snyder told reporters on November 30.
“You can always impact the game defensively, and that was a big-time play that he made.”
Shooting continued to be a struggle for Bufkin versus the Hornets. He finished with 9 points in the game, tying his season high. But the No. 15 overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft, Bufkin, was 3-for-9 from the floor and 0-for-3 from long range.
Shooting was the biggest knock against Bufkin coming out of college and he has not shown much growth in that area, shooting 26.7% on the season and 2-for-9 in the last five games.
Bufkin still brings a downhill element that the Hawks need.
Patient move by Kobe for the bucket pic.twitter.com/NUVWIFUgLZ
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) November 30, 2024
He has also shown some questionable shot selection, which is to be expected from a young and inexperienced guard. But combined with his lack of a consistent jumper, Bufkin must contribute defensively when on the floor to prevent becoming a liability.
Kobe Bufkin’s defensive metrics underscore Quin Snyder’s comments
NBA.com tracking data credits Bufkin with having held his defensive assignments 4% below their season average on 3s and a whopping 20% below on 2s through seven games.
Bufkin’s minus-12% defensive field goal percentage differential is the seventh-best mark in the league among players with at least seven appearances this season. Teammate Vit Krejci is notably among those players ahead of Bufkin.
But so is two-time All-Defensive Teamer Alex Caruso, putting him in good company.
Injuries have stunted Bufkin’s development. And anyone looking solely at the box score might overlook some of the more nuanced ways he is helping this team. But even that would show that Bufkin has logged three straight games with a positive plus-minus.
He opened the season with four straight marks in the negative. And while it is certainly more of a group stat than it is often presented, Bufkin was part of those groups.