The Index · Live

Kobe Bufkin New Orleans Pelicans · #4

Guard · 6'4", 195 lb · Grand Rapids, MI · Age 23 · 3rd season

Kobe Bufkin is a guard for the New Orleans Pelicans who has played 43 games over 3 seasons, averaging 2.9 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists in 2025-26.

New Orleans Pelicans roster More Guards

MVP race · #381Guard rank · #216Balladex Impact · 48

⚖ Quick compare

Analysis by Beau Thoutt · Balladex

◆ Rated

New Orleans Pelicans · #4 · Guard

Kobe Bufkin

Season avg2.9 pts · 0.8 reb · 0.6 ast · .300 fg

Career avg4.2 pts · 1.5 reb · 1.3 ast · .347 fg

Live win probabilitySeason

No scheduled game — showing season pace. Illustrative.

Tonight's projectionmodel

2.9pts

0.8reb

0.6ast

LADDER#381 in the Balladex MVP raceIMPACTBalladex Impact 48 — Rotation piece tierINDEXKobe Bufkin · New Orleans PelicansLADDER#381 in the Balladex MVP raceIMPACTBalladex Impact 48 — Rotation piece tierINDEXKobe Bufkin · New Orleans Pelicans

Scouting report

Kobe Bufkin — the report card

Read his whole game at a glance, then dive into any skill. Grades from the DNA model + real production.

Guard · Rotation piece · Impact 48

Kobe Bufkin is a guard for the New Orleans Pelicans who has played 43 games over 3 seasons, averaging 2.9 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists in 2025

C-

Offense

C-

Defense

C-

Feel / IQ

C-

Playmaking

Below average creator

tap for the data ↓

C-

Scoring

Below average scorer

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C-

Rebounding

Below average on the glass

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C-

3PT / spacing

Below average spacing

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C-

Perimeter D

Below average on the perimeter

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C-

Paint / rim D

Below average at the rim

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C-

Clutch

Below average late

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C-

Athleticism

Below average tools

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C-

Basketball IQ

Reads the game

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Durability

Availability

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Act II

Where Kobe Bufkin stands

Live ladders from the Balladex models, and what he's chasing. Rankings recompute nightly from real production, accolades, and search demand.

The laddersmodel · recomputes nightly

Nikola Jokić Denver Nuggets▬

43%

Giannis Antetokounmpo Miami Heat▬

23%

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Oklahoma City Thunder▬

19%

Luka Doncic Los Angeles Lakers▬

Joel Embiid Philadelphia 76ers▬

✦ Balladex Consensus: #457 of 627 — a blend of the Impact index, current production, career résumé and live search demand. Recomputes as the data does.

Futures & chases

—MVP odds

48Impact index

18Star score

Career scoring average4.2 ppg

Seasons in the index3

Accolades on file0

Stat explorer

Kobe Bufkin — every number, three levels deep

Headline → metric → the raw history behind it. Real career data; tracking-only metrics labeled.

C-

Scoring

2.9 PPG

drill in ↓

C-

Playmaking

0.6 APG

drill in ↓

C-

Rebounding

0.8 RPG

drill in ↓

C-

Shooting

.192 3P%

drill in ↓

The engine

How the model sees Kobe Bufkin

Projection = per-minute rate × projected minutes. Rates are recency- and health-weighted, aged along a per-stat curve, and adjusted for live usage/role. No black box — every number shows its work.

Projected 2026-27 51% confidence

3.2

pts

0.4–6.0

0.8

reb

-0.5–2.1

0.6

ast

-0.5–1.7

8.0

min

proj

health

.339

fg%

~base

.204

3p%

~base

Bands widen as confidence drops. Derived live from the real 3-season history below.

What moves the points line vs last season

Last season 2.9 → projected 3.2 PPG

Minutes / role

+0.2

Development (his trend)

-0.1

Age curve

+0.0

Live context

+0.1

Net vs last season+0.3 PPG

Everything it reads

📊

3 seasons of per-minute rates

every box line, minutes-normalized

real

⚖

Recency × games-played weight

recent, healthy seasons anchor the baseline

auto

📈

Weighted least-squares trend

his own trajectory, read season over season

+dev

🕰

Per-stat aging curves

age 23 — applied per stat

curve

🔌

Live role context

usage & role shifts fold in when the feed is present

+ctx

🏥

Durability signal

GP last 3: 17 / 10 / 16 → games & confidence

health

The real history it trains onsource: Basketball-Reference · verified

Kobe Bufkin career stats, season by season

Career stats by season
Season	GP	MIN	PTS	REB	AST	FG%	3P%
2023-24	17	11.5	4.8	1.9	1.6	.370	.225
2024-25	10	12.4	5.3	2.1	1.7	.383	.211
2025-26	16	7.4	2.9	0.8	0.6	.300	.192
Career	43	10.2	4.2	1.5	1.3

Source: Basketball-Reference. Backtested against completed player-seasons in the index. The same engine powers Tonight's projection, EraLab, and the role simulator — one model, asked different questions. Illustrative.

Act III

The Lab

Every number, live and interactive. Real career data; models labeled.

Gold = MVP / Championship season · hover any bar. Real per-game data; per-36 & totals derived.

EraLab · the stat time machinenovel

Re-express a season in today's pace-and-space.

—raw PPG

→

—in 2026 pace

why

Player DNA + compssimilarity model

Closest comps

⚖ Overlay a rival →

Scoring map · clickable zonesShotChart

Team-tinted. Modeled where tracking data is absent.

Role simulatorpowered by GM engine

Change the roster around him — his projection updates live.

If a key teammate misses 20 games →

Projected line shifts to — usage , assists rise as primary initiator. Title odds . Illustrative.

Context

Are the New Orleans Pelicans built to win?

Team projection rolled up from the roster + last-season baselines — and what it means for his role.

31–51proj record

#11conf seed

-4net rtg

113.5off rtg

117.4def rtg

2%playoff odds

Roster delta · what changed

Aggressive hedge & help — Hedges hard on ball screens and rotates aggressive help from the weak side. Core trending improving. Defensive anchors: Herbert Jones, Derik Queen.

How his role moves

Projected 31–51, 11th in the West. Real team projection from the roster + last-season baselines. His usage, minutes and creation load move with roster health.

Balladex Impact

48 of 99

Rotation piece tier.

Rarity

◆ Rated

Collectible tier.

Résumé

0 accolades

Career honors on file.

Act IV

The Ballad of Kobe Bufkin

Birth to now — the making of a legend, narrated and scored.

2003-09-21

The beginning

Kobe Bufkin is a guard for the New Orleans Pelicans.

New Orleans Pelicans

Turning pro

Drafted 15th overall, 2023 as a Guard.

true

Kobe Bufkin is a guard for the New Orleans Pelicans.

Chapter

He has played 43 games over 3 seasons (2023-26), averaging 10.2 minutes a night. The season-by-season table below carries every per-game figure, each one reconciled against ESPN.

Chapter

In 2025-26 he played 16 games, averaging 2.9 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists in 7.4 minutes.

▶

Bufkin's story

The documentary, narrated

Highlights

▶ Highlights landing soon

Off the court

Measurables ESPN

Active

Height: 6' 4"
Weight: 195 lbs
College: Michigan
Experience: 4th Season
Draft: 15th overall, 2023
Born: Grand Rapids, MI
Age: 23
Jersey: #4

Beyond the game

Kobe Bufkin is from Grand Rapids, MI, born 2003-09-21, listed at 6'4" and 195 lb. He has 4 seasons of NBA service. This background is assembled from league records; the colour that fills a page like this comes later, from a human.

The person

A guard on 10.2 career minutes a night, read from the box score rather than the eye test.

Bench depth7.4 minutes a night; situational.

Floor spacerShooting 19.2% from three.

Verified profiles & sources

ESPN

FAQ

Kobe Bufkin — frequently asked

The questions people ask most about Kobe Bufkin, answered.

What position does Kobe Bufkin play?

Kobe Bufkin is a guard for the New Orleans Pelicans.

How many NBA games has Kobe Bufkin played?

43 regular-season games over 3 seasons, averaging 10.2 minutes.

How many NBA seasons has Kobe Bufkin played?

3 seasons (2023-26).

How tall is Kobe Bufkin?

6'4", 195 lb

Kobe Bufkin career stats & accolades are real, and team projections and recent-game home/away splits are computed from real production. DNA ratings, grades, tonight's projection, ladders, live win probability and simulator outputs are Balladex model output. Not affiliated with the NBA.