Kon Knueppel led the NBA with 273 made 3-pointers as a rookie and says he is now more comfortable shooting from deep off the dribble.
No rookie in NBA history made more 3-pointers than Kon Knueppel did last season. At Charlotte Hornets media day Monday, he said he feels more comfortable shooting them off the dribble after the offseason.
He made 273 as a rookie, the most in the league. At Duke the season before, he shot better than 40% from deep. No rookie had led the league in made 3-pointers before, and Keegan Murray held the previous rookie record with 206.
Knueppel Still Wants Assisted 3-Pointers
Assisted 3-pointers are still the ones he wants to take. Knueppel sees those shots as a product of Charlotte's offense and the type of looks the Hornets should continue creating.
"I think you got a lot of attempts, a lot off assists obviously," Knueppel said. "I think that's because the product of the offense, but also those are the good shots. Those are the ones you want to take. I think I'm in a good spot, both in we're going to have to play a little bit differently this year. We're still going to want to play with the pace that we play with."
"But I feel more comfortable off the dribble, shooting those threes after the offseason," Knueppel continued. "But also, we are going to get a lot of assisted three-point attempts. And so you want to make those."
Charlotte traded LaMelo Ball, its starting point guard, to the Minnesota Timberwolves on June 25.
Knueppel Set Records Throughout Rookie Season
Over the 10 games through a Nov. 23 loss at Atlanta, Knueppel made 4.1 3-pointers per game and averaged 23.1 points.
On Jan. 29, Knueppel went 8-of-12 from 3-point range and scored 34 points in a 123-121 win over the Dallas Mavericks. By early February, according to the Charlotte Observer, he had become the fastest player in NBA history to reach 100 career 3-pointers.
Bleacher Report noted Feb. 3 that he was shooting 46.6% on pull-up 3-pointers. The same report said his 42.5% overall mark was the best among the 15 players with at least 350 attempts.
Four days later, at Atlanta, he played his 14th game with at least five 3-pointers. According to the Hornets, no rookie in NBA history had more.
Knueppel Reached 3-Point Contest Final
At All-Star Saturday in Los Angeles on Feb. 14, he competed in the 3-Point Contest. Knueppel scored 27 in the first round to reach the final, then scored 17 and finished third behind Damian Lillard and Devin Booker.
Against the New York Knicks on March 26, he made his 250th 3-pointer of the season. According to the Hornets, no other player age 22 or younger had reached 250 in a season.
He finished with 273 makes on 642 attempts, 42.5%, and averaged 7.9 attempts a game. In Charlotte's two play-in games, he went 1-of-12 from deep.
Hornets Add More Shooting Around Knueppel
Grayson Allen is one of the new shooters around him. Acquired from the Phoenix Suns in the Miles Bridges trade, Allen made a career-high 3.1 3-pointers per game last season. On Nov. 10, 2025, he hit a Suns franchise-record 10 against New Orleans.
Grant Williams, who shot 39% from 3-point range last season, and Knueppel will both miss the preseason with hamstring injuries.
Knueppel's 273 makes, an average of 3.4 per game, are also the Hornets' single-season record, passing the mark Kemba Walker set in 2018-19.
