Brooklyn Nets: Sean Kilpatrick’s Rocky Road in the NBA

The Turnaround Begins: 2015-16

He returned to the 87ers on November 17, and his D-League domination began that night. Against the Canton Charge, Kilpatrick erupted for 24 points on 8 of 17 shooting in just 28 minutes. He buried five threes and finished at the basket with splendid efficiency. Over the next couple of months with Delaware, Kilpatrick carved up almost every defense thrown at him. He went for 30-plus on seven occasions, including a 45-point outburst in a triple-overtime contest against the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.

The Denver Nuggets must’ve been dazzled by his performance, and signed him to a 10-day contract on January 12, 2016–just for good measure; Kilpatrick poured in 31 in his final D-League game before coming up to the NBA.

In the Mile High City, Kilpatrick didn’t look special. Through four games, scoring just nine total points, and he didn’t even attempt a shot inside the three-point line. Furthermore, his playing time was sporadic. Oddly enough, though, Denver saw some potential and signed him to a second ten-day contract on January 23. He appeared in four more games with Denver, and his play improved. He scored 11 points in 15 minutes against the Hawks two days after inking his deal and averaged 4.5 points a night on 50 percent shooting before going back to the D-League.

Most of February was spent with Delaware, and Kilpatrick continued his outstanding play. He topped 16 points in each of his six games and was only under 20 once. After averaging 26.4 points, he was named a D-League All-Star and landed on the All-NBA D-League Third Team.

Again, Kilpatrick earned a 10-day contract. This time, it was from the Brooklyn Nets and Kilpatrick began to make an impact almost immediately. His first real action came against the Los Angeles Lakers on the first of March. Kilpatrick went for eight points in 21 minutes during the Brooklyn Nets’ six-point loss; the subsequent game was one of his best.

Against Denver, the team he was just with, Kilpatrick chipped in 12 points as the Brooklyn Nets edged out his former team, 121-120. It only got better from there. The following game, a 14-point loss to Minnesota, Kilpatrick earned a bigger spot in the rotation. In that game, he set a career-high with 19 points in 26 minutes. The final game of his 10-day was rather unimpressive–eight points on 3/7 shooting–but management had seen enough and signed Kilpatrick to a second 10-day.

The rest is history.

From March 9-19, Kilpatrick averaged 15 points on 59 percent shooting, including 50 percent from three. He dropped 19 in two games and–despite the woes of the Brooklyn Nets–Kilpatrick was looking magnificent. He poured in 15 points on March 19, the same day he signed a multi-year deal with Brooklyn, and finished out the season on an incredible tear.

The first game after signing his new deal, Kilpatrick set another career-high with 25 points. He later eclipsed this mark on April 10 with 26.

Over 2016’s final 13 games, Kilpatrick averaged a whopping 15.1 points in just 26 minutes per night. The Nets’ supreme struggles gave Kilpatrick the perfect launching pad to his career, as he got a bevy of minutes. With the Nets way out of the playoff race, they could afford to give minutes to developing guys.

When the Brooklyn Nets announced their new D-League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, Kilpatrick had nothing but praise for the minor league and credited it to his intense work ethic. He elaborated by saying how no one should ever underestimate their time down there because “you never know who’s watching.”

He made another return to the Summer League and continued to look more and more improved. Over the four games with the Brooklyn Nets, he averaged 19.2 points and scored 24 and 25 over his final two contests.

Next: The Future