The Charlotte Hornets must be thanking their lucky stars Ryan Kalbrenner fell into their lap at the No. 34 spot in this year's draft. He has already established his place as one of the league's better interior defenders. What many might know, though, is that he has been able to protect the rim without fouling too much.
As Sam Perley of NBA.com noted, Kalkbrenner fouled out for the first time since at least high school in the Hornets' loss to the Denver Nuggets last Sunday. So, that means the former Creighton University star spent five seasons in college and bagged four Big East Defensive Player of the Year awards without being tossed out because of fouls. Keep in mind that in college, players are disqualified for five fouls, and technical fouls count toward the total.
Interestingly, Sunday was the first time Kalkbrenner exceeded four personal fouls at the pro level. A matchup against Nikola Jokic proved too much for the 23-year-old rookie, who registered two fouls while playing only 4:12 in the first quarter. Still, he had the chance to extend his streak of not fouling out, but he had to foul intentionally with 12.6 seconds left in the contest and Charlotte down 113-106.
Staying on the floor is a valuable skill
Kalkbrenner's defensive acumen and discipline have been pretty impressive. And those are key reasons he has the potential to be a useful rotation guy in the NBA for a very long time.
Despite being tasked with manning the paint for a team with a lackluster perimeter defense, Kalkbrenner's 2.3 percent foul percentage ranks in the 95th percentile for big men.
It's also not as if he has shied away from meeting bodies at the rim. He has continued to exhibit fearlessness in attempting blocks inside the shaded area. While that has sometimes resulted in getting posterized, there are also times when he is able to reject shots and make it to the highlight reel.
The young center is currently fourth in the league in total and average blocks, and he only figures to improve more in that area as he sharpens his mastery and instinct in swatting shots. The Hornets could also help him by deploying a stouter defense at the wing, but that might take a while given the dearth of options on their current roster.
For now, they are fortunate to have found a defensive anchor that opponents cannot bait into too many fouls. They should also be grateful that Kalkbrenner has not had to stay for an extended period on the injury report despite hurting his ankle earlier in the campaign. It has been a breath of fresh air for fans, who have had to endure seeing several Charlotte players, particularly LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller, continue to battle injuries for a couple of years now.