Kyle Korver on Mastering a Specialty and Exploring Possibility

Kyle Korver is one of the most prolific 3-point shooters in the history of the NBA. He’s 4th most all-time in 3-point field goals made and 3rd highest on the all-time list for 3-point field goal percentage. But Kyle is so much more than a shooter. He was an all-star in 2015 and he played in the NBA for 17 seasons. Kyle also won the sportsmanship award in 2015.

In this episode, we discuss misogi and its role in Kyle’s life and career (6:34), if he’s always embraced challenge and adventure (11:13), how misogi helps him navigate COVID (16:09), how he thinks about perfectionism and adaptability in relation to his gameday mindset (18:25), how he expanded his game to be more than a shooter as he got older (22:40), what he would do mentally to prepare on game day, before practice, and in the offseason (26:28), what he would do during the game to bring himself back if he got off kilter (29:27), if he would talk to himself (30:55), his upbringing, what it was like to be around his father who was a pastor, and the role of religion in his life (32:30), the values his parents instilled in him and his brothers (34:33), what it was like going from LA to Iowa (36:17), how he got his love for basketball (39:25), how much of shooting is nature and how much is nurture (42:26), where his eyes tend to go when he’s watching a basketball game on TV (43:46), how the tragedy with his younger brother has impacted how he thinks about life (44:39), his experience with therapy (46:53), race relations in the US and being a part of walking off the court with the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA bubble (51:46), what he did that intentionally led to his success both on and off the court during the 2015 season (56:51), if he considers himself to be a leader and what makes a good leader (59:20), what he has learned from his wife and how she has influenced him (1:02:34), and raising kids intentionally (1:07:20).

Thanks so much to Kyle for coming on the podcast!

I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers.

Thanks for listening.

-Brian