Charlotte Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel is off to a historic start from 3-point range, and the fourth pick wasn’t even quite sure what he had accomplished in the moment.
Knueppel on Monday became the fastest player in history to reach 100 career 3-pointers, doing so in 29 total games. He knocked down five in a 139-132 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, his 11th game of the season with at least five triples.
The 20-year-old smashed the previous mark that it took Lauri Markkanen to reach 100 3-pointers, set during the 2017-18 season with the Chicago Bulls (41 games). For comparison, Markkanen had connected on 61 3s through the first 29 games of that season.
“I had a bunch of texts after the game that I didn’t even realize,” Knueppel said of the record. “I hadn’t opened any social media yet, so I didn’t know what they were talking about, which is funny. I don’t really think about it that much. Obviously, the amount of games I beat it by, I was like, ‘That is quite a few.’ I didn’t really think about it much, to be honest.”
Knueppel is averaging 19.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists while shooting 41.9% from 3-point range in 30 games with the Hornets. He leads the rookie class in scoring and is one of two first-year players with three 30-point performances.
The reigning Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month is second in the league among all players in total 3-pointers (105). He is currently on pace to shatter the rookie record for a season, set by Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray in 2022-23 (206).
Knueppel is off to a productive start and is a key reason the Hornets have shown some improvement. However, he isn’t necessarily thinking too much about any personal accolades and is focused on helping the team take a step forward on the court.
“I feel like I still have my moments where it’s like, ‘Man, this is hard,'” Knueppel said. “I tend not to dwell on any of that and the process; I just try to focus on what I can do better and what I can do to help my team win, going into each and every game.”