INDIANAPOLIS (AP) \u2014 Charlotte\u2019s Kon Knueppel reached yet another milestone in a remarkable rookie season for the No. 4 overall pick from Duke.<\/p>\n
The Hornets swingman broke Keegan Murray\u2019s NBA rookie record for 3-pointers, making his 207th Thursday night against the Indiana Pacers. Knueppel connected on five 3s in the first half and then broke the record in the third quarter off an assist from Sion James, his former college teammate.<\/p>\n
Knueppel finished with 28 points and shot 8 of 12 beyond the arc as the Hornets throttled the Pacers 133-109. He leads the NBA with 209 3s.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really just about making the right basketball play,\u201d Knueppel said. \u201cMy teammates are setting good screens and setting me up in good spots. The coaches as well. I\u2019m just out there looking to make the right play for my team.\u201d<\/p>\n
It took Murray 80 games in 2022-23 to establish the record \u2014 and Knueppel just 59 to surpass it. He said he did not realize the magnitude of the shot that set the mark.<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, I thought I needed seven,\u201d Knueppel said.<\/p>\n
Golden State\u2019s Stephen Curry holds the single-season NBA record with 402 3s.<\/p>\n
Knueppel is shooting 44.2% from 3-point range, making him a contender for NBA Rookie of the Year along with his former college teammate and roommate Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 overall pick of the Dallas Mavericks. He has also helped propel the long-suffering Hornets into playoff contention with 22 games left.<\/p>\n
Charlotte has not made the playoffs since the 2015-16 season.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s what elevates our whole culture when you have a guy that\u2019s that good, but that humble, no ego \u2014 it becomes contagious throughout your whole organization,\u201d Hornets coach Charles Lee told CGTN Sports Scene after Knueppel eclipsed 200 3s on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n
Knueppel has been a perfect fit in second-year coach Lee\u2019s offense alongside playmaker LaMelo Ball, using his basketball IQ to find open spots on the floor \u2014 a skill he attributes to playing in his father\u2019s men\u2019s league against taller competition beginning as an eighth grader growing up in Milwaukee.<\/p>\n
Knueppel has thrived as a catch-and-shoot player with 93% of his 3s this season coming off assists entering Thursday night, according to Cleaning the Glass.<\/p>\n
He has turned heads across the league with his shooting percentage.<\/p>\n
Curry, the NBA\u2019s career leader in 3s, made 166 on 380 attempts (43.7%) as a rookie in with the Warriors in 80 games in 2009-10. Knueppel has attempted 473 3s this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe can obviously shoot the ball at a high level,\u201d Curry said after a recent game against the Hornets. \u201cYou can\u2019t really leave him open at all as he has such a quick release and shoots with confidence. And his playmaking is very underrated. His game just suits the NBA style, whether it\u2019s fast-paced or a slowed-down possession game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Knueppel surpassed Donovan Mitchell, who is third on the list of 3s by a rookie, in a loss to the Cavaliers on Feb. 20.<\/p>\n
Mitchell joked that he heard about it after the game from Cavs teammate Tyrese Proctor, who played with Knueppel at Duke.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s talented,\u201d Mitchell said of Knueppel. \u201cFor him to be a rookie and be able to go out there and make it look effortless. … We know he can shoot the ball, right? But I think him getting to the midrange and play develop in the small pick-and-roll that is something I think is really unique about his game is being able to do that and create advantages for himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mitchell added, \u201cIt\u2019s going to be interesting with him and Coop for rookie of the year.\u201d <\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"INDIANAPOLIS (AP) \u2014 Charlotte\u2019s Kon Knueppel reached yet another milestone in a remarkable rookie season for the No.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":633962,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3777],"tags":[7,684,473,3878,703,685,968,6,1980],"class_list":{"0":"post-633961","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-charlotte-hornets","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-charlotte","10":"tag-charlotte-hornets","11":"tag-charlottehornets","12":"tag-duke-university","13":"tag-hornets","14":"tag-kon-knueppel","15":"tag-nba","16":"tag-wisconsin"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/633961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=633961"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/633961\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/633962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=633961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=633961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=633961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}