Hornets' Kon Knueppel makes history after finishing as 3-point leader

· Yahoo Sports

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.

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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."

Knueppel finishes the year averaging 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists while shooting 42.5% from 3-point range in 81 appearances. He led the rookie class in total points (1,498) and was one of two first-year players with five or more 30-point games.

The fourth overall pick on Feb. 26 set the NBA record for the most 3-pointers in a season by a rookie, surpassing Keegan Murray (206). He then topped Kemba Walker on April 2 for the Hornets' single-season 3-point record with his 261st triple on the year.

Knueppel is the current favorite to win Rookie of the Year, just ahead of Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg. The two players have finished the season playing some of their best basketball, which should produce one of the closest award races in recent memory.

Behind the emergence of Knueppel, plus the contributions of several others, the Hornets clinched a spot in the play-in tournament as the ninth seed. The group will host the Miami Heat on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. EDT, Prime) in a win-or-go-home matchup, which Knueppel is eager about.

"It is big," Knueppel said. "We get to live to fight another day. Now we got to take them one game at a time, but it is nice to be playing the game at home."

This article originally appeared on Rookie Wire: Hornets news: Kon Knueppel makes history by leading NBA in 3-pointers

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