Hornets' Kon Knueppel makes history after finishing as 3-point leader
Hornets guard Kon Knueppel claimed yet another milestone in his quest to win Rookie of the Year: Finishing as the league leader in 3-pointers.
Charlotte Hornets guard Kon Knueppel claimed yet another milestone in his quest to win the 2026 NBA Rookie of the Year award: Finishing as the league leader in 3-pointers. Knueppel began Sunday leading all players in the NBA with 270 3s, just ahead of teammate LaMelo Ball in second place (267). By the end of their 110-96 victory over the New York Knicks, Knueppel walked off the court as the first rookie in history with the most 3s in a season.
Ball led the Hornets with 19 points, including five 3-pointers, in their win at Madison Square Garden, while Knueppel knocked down three triples, finishing with 14 points. Knueppel is the first Eastern Conference player to lead the NBA in 3s since Ryan Anderson in the 2011-12 season. Knueppel and Ball joined Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson as the only teammates in history to make 270 or more 3-pointers in a season.
Curry and Thompson accomplished that feat twice, during the 2015-16 and 2022-23 seasons. "I wasn't really aware of how many we were separated by," Knueppel said . "We just tried to make the right play.
Me and him didn't really make a lot of 3s down the stretch, either. Just tried to go out there and make the right decision. " 273 THREES.