Duke Basketball Issues Reminder of NBA Blue Devil 3-Point Supremacy

The Duke basketball family continues to showcase NBA production with a pair of former Blue Devils leading from 3-point range.

Duke basketball guards Luke Kennard and Grayson Allen / Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports

Nearly a decade ago, both Grayson Allen and Luke Kennard took turns atop the Duke basketball statistical standings by leading the team in points per game. Allen led the Blue Devils with 21.6 points per game during the 2015-16 campaign, with Kennard leading the 2016-17 team at 19.5 points per game.

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Fast forward to today, and the former Blue Devil teammates once again find themselves at the top of a statistical category. But this time, they led the entire NBA.

Allen and Kennard finished No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in 3-point percentage across the 2023-24 NBA regular season, with the pair being the only two players league-wide to eclipse the 45 percent threshold. Kennard came in right on that mark for the Memphis Grizzlies, while Allen bested his former teammate by shooting 46.1 percent in his first year with the Phoenix Suns.

The Blue Devils were quick to remind fans exactly where the pair went to school, with the official Duke basketball account sharing a graphic on social media to highlight the duo's successful seasons from downtown:

Quick reminder that 2 Blue Devils led the NBA in 3pt FG% this year

🎯 @GraysonJAllen
🎯 @LukeKennard5 #DukeintheNBA 😈 pic.twitter.com/odrElHIs9c

— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) May 7, 2024

Allen’s league-leading mark is also his career-best, and it's the third time the 28-year-old has finished a season shooting above 40 percent from beyond the arc. Plus, he added career-highs with 13.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game.

Kennard’s output this season was the second-best finish from 3-point land of his career, after the 27-year-old sharpshooter led the league last season with a 49.4 percent clip. He also extended a streak of finishing above 40 percent for the fourth straight season, a mark he's hit in five of his seven pro campaigns. Despite missing over 60 games between the past two seasons due to injury, the former Blue Devil can clearly still connect from distance. 

Following Luke Kennard’s league-leading 3-point percentages in 2021-22 and 2022-23 and Allen’s NBA-best sharpshooting this past season, it's worth watching next season to see if Duke basketball will have a former player land on top of the leaderboard for a fourth year in a row.

Stay tuned to Blue Devil Country on SI for more updates on NBA Blue Devils and other Duke basketball news.