MIAMI -- Jason Kapono still thinks of himself as an unknown commodity in the NBA. And he's serious about that. Well, sort of.
Kapono, the starting small forward for the Miami Heat, is on pace to set the league's single-season record for 3-point percentage. He will compete in the 3-point shooting contest during All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas, but he believes no one knows who he is.
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| Jason Kapono's shooting takes some of the offensive load off Dwyane Wade's shoulders. (Getty Images) |
"They can't spell my name, and they can't tell you what school I went to. They don't know why I'm out there."
Not opponents.
"I've heard coaches say guard that guy or guard that dude. They never call me by name. I don't think they even know who I am. ... When I go out there as a starter, some guys say, 'Hey Shaq. Hey Dwyane. Hey guy, what's up.'"
Not even his teammates.
"No one invites me to any parties. Even Zo (Alonzo Mourning). He's having a billiards thing in Vegas, and I never even got anything. I had to hear it through a third person that he's having a party. He doesn't even know who I am, and I'm on his team. Like I said, no one knows who I am."
Kapono, who went to UCLA and is from Los Angeles, is kidding, of course, because it's hard to miss what he has done this season. He has started 27 games this year and is averaging 11.1 points in 25.5 minutes.
He also is leading the NBA in 3-point percentage at 56 percent. The NBA single-season record is 52.4 percent, set by Chicago's Steve Kerr in 1994-95.
The Heat were a team in need of consistent outside shooting to complement Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade, and the 6-foot-8 Kapono has provided the answer.
"The way he's shooting the ball is phenomenal," Wade said. "We've got all the confidence in the world in Jason. We would like him to shoot it even more."
Kapono has waited a long time for this opportunity. He was drafted by Cleveland in 2003 and then taken by Charlotte in the 2004 Expansion Draft. He started 14 games with the Bobcats before signing with the Heat last year.
