Undrafted point guard Kendrick Nunn has begun his Miami Heat career on a record pace, scoring more points in his first five games than anyone in the past 25 years except Kevin Durant and Jerry Stackhouse.
His 28-point performance against the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday night pushed his points total to 112, the most by any player in their first five games with the Heat -- including LeBron James (102) and Dwyane Wade (57).
Nunn, 24, began his career with 24 points against Memphis on Oct. 23 and has not stopped scoring since -- garnering at least 24 points three times in Miami's first five games.
Despite going undrafted in 2018, Nunn has outperformed the past 26 No. 1 picks in points -- trailing only Shaquille O'Neal, Elvin Hayes, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and David Robinson through their first five career games in the common draft era (1966).
"It comes from hard work, most definitely," Nunn said after the Heat's 106-97 win over the Hawks on Thursday. "My faith in Jesus Christ and just hard work, letting it all out on the floor."
Nunn, 6-foot-2, spent three years at Illinois and one at Oakland University. Nunn was dismissed from Illinois in 2016 after pleading guilty to misdemeanor domestic battery.
Nunn signed a contract with the Golden State Warriors in July 2018 but was waived three months later. The Heat snatched up Nunn over the summer, signing him to a 3-year, $3.1 million deal.