Hoops Nightly
8
Suns · G · 30
Luke Kennard
vs
2025-26
Malachi Smith
Raptors · G · 26
Malachi Smith
Head to head · 2025-26 regular season · stats.nba.com

Luke Kennard vs Malachi Smith

8-9categories
Kennard · Smith

Luke Kennard: Day-To-Day (Knee · Leg · Left).

8
Kennard
Suns
2025-26
Smith
Raptors
Malachi Smith
78
Games
availability
15
21.5
Minutes
per game
23.9
8.4
Points
per game
8.3
2.3
Rebounds
per game
3.4
2.2
Assists
per game
3.3
0.8
Steals + blocks
per game
1.1
0.8
Turnovers
per game · lower is better
0.9
53.3%
Field goal %
48.5%
47.8%
Three-point %
3.1 vs 3.1 attempts
43.5%
91.3%
Free throw %
100.0%
68.9%
True shooting
TS%
60.5%
13.1%
Usage
USG%
13.6%
13.9%
Assist %
of teammates' baskets
20.4%
5.3%
Rebound %
of available
7.3%
+0.5
Net rating
on court
-13.2
8.9%
PIE
player impact estimate
10.2%
+0.5
Plus-minus
per game
-6.0
Bars show each player's share of the pair's total; the better number is in the club's color (turnovers: fewer is better).

Where the gap is

from the numbers above

Luke Kennard scored more in 2025-26, 0.1 points a game apart (8.4 vs 8.3), on Smith's heavier usage (13.6% vs 13.1%).

Kennard is the more efficient scorer by true shooting, 68.9% to 60.5%; TS% folds threes and free throws into one number, so the gap survives shot-diet differences.

Playmaking goes to Smith (3.3 vs 2.2 assists), the glass to Smith (3.4 vs 2.3 rebounds).

Availability is part of the comparison: Kennard played 63 more games (78 vs 15 of 82).

With Kennard on the floor his team outscored opponents by +0.5 per 100 possessions, against -13.2 for Smith; on-court net rating carries the teammates with it, so read it next to PIE.

On the books for 2026-27: Kennard $6.1M through 2027-28, Smith — through —. Whether either fits a trade is a Trade Machine question, not a stat one.

Splits

2025-26 · from the game logs
Kennard
2025-26
Smith
45-33
Record when playing
3-12
7.6
Points at home
6.4
9.1
Points on the road
11.0
9.5
Points in wins
6.7
6.8
Points in losses
8.7
22
Season high
19
0
30-point games
0
1
Double-doubles
1

Last games & contracts

test a trade in the Trade Machine →
Kennard · last 5
Wed, Oct 14 at SAS4 pts · 2 reb · 1 ast
Sat, Oct 10 vs SAS20 pts · 5 reb · 4 ast
Wed, Oct 7 at CHI8 pts · 2 reb · 4 ast
Mon, Oct 5 at DET9 pts · 2 reb · 2 ast
Mon, May 11 vs OKC5 pts · 2 reb · 2 ast
Smith · last 5
Fri, Oct 16 at DET24 pts · 7 reb · 3 ast
Thu, Oct 15 at NYK8 pts · 0 reb · 0 ast
Tue, Oct 13 vs NYK3 pts · 0 reb · 2 ast
Sat, Oct 10 vs LAC4 pts · 1 reb · 4 ast
Sat, Oct 3 vs MIA7 pts · 4 reb · 2 ast
Kennard · contract
2026-27$6.1M
2027-28player option$6.4M
Smith · contract
No contract on file (free agent, two-way, or not yet signed).

More comparisons

pick any two players →
Kennard vs
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope · Jared McCain · Bones Hyland · Luguentz Dort
Smith vs
Luguentz Dort · Jared McCain · Kentavious Caldwell-Pope · Luke Kennard

Per-game numbers and percentages are 2025-26 regular season from stats.nba.com; splits and last games from our own game logs; contract figures are cap hits from public salary data and can lag a signing by a day. Bold marks the better number in each row (turnovers: fewer is better).