Kon Knueppel is making NBA history with his shooting ability, and he is reaching levels no one other than Stephen Curry have hit. The heir apparent to the Babyfaced Assassin has arrived.
206. That is how many 3-pointers Keegan Murray hit for the Sacramento Kings in 2022-23, setting the rookie record for made triples. It was an impressive feat.
Kon Knueppel blew past that record at 100 miles per hour. He now has 247 long balls on the season, setting the rookie record a rung higher each time he takes the court. If he plays in each of the Charlotte Hornets' remaining 10 games and maintains his pace of 3.5 made 3-pointers per game, he will finish with 282 3-pointers on the season.
That number would tie Buddy Hield for the 18th-most in a single season in NBA history, which is a ludicrous mark for Knueppel to hit as a rookie. Curry, of course, owns eight of the 15 highest-volume shooting seasons in NBA history, including five of the top six. His mark of 402 3-pointers in the 2015-16 season is light-years above anything anyone else has produced.
Stephen Curry changed basketball
Curry burst onto the scene in a different era of NBA basketball and changed the game himself, launching 3-pointers from further and further away at heretofore unheard of levels of accuracy. He shot a lot, and he shot them well, and it turned into the greatest shooting display in NBA history.
Other players have replicated pieces of what Curry brought to the table. Shooting specialists like Hield, Duncan Robinson and Malik Beasley had their moments. On-ball stars chucked up a premier volume of 3-pointers to reach lofty totals, such as Anthony Edwards and James Harden. Klay Thompson, of course, was the wingman and shooter de jour alongside Curry.
No player has entered the league since Curry's revolution, however, who has put together this combination of volume and accuracy. Not until Kon Knueppel, that is.
Kon Knueppel is making history
No matter how you slice it, what Knueppel is doing is supremely special. Yes, he has set the rookie record, but it's more than that. If he does get to somewhere around 280 3-pointers, he will be the only player to reach that mark while shooting at least 43 percent from deep other than Curry.
That list is a special one, as it's the true indicator of Curry's brilliance. The only player in NBA history to hit more than 270 3-pointers in a season while shooting 43 percent or more from distance is Curry, and he has done so on four separate occasions. Knueppel has a very real shot to join him - and in fact, is on track to do so.
Knueppel is just a rookie. He isn't old enough to drink yet. And yet he is scoring 19 points per game, pulling down five rebounds, dishing 3.4 assists and surviving on defense -- in other words, he is a really good all-around player. Now add in that he is setting records and making history as a shooter. That is a special player.
As he blossoms for Curry's hometown team, with Steph's dad Dell calling his games, the narrative circle could not be more perfect. Wardell Stephen Curry II changed the game and dominated it for years. Now it's time to pass the baton, to let the next generation continue to shape the future of the league.
And with all due respect to Anthony Edwards, Trae Young and anyone else hoping for the title, we now know the identity of the next king of the 3-pointer: Kon Knueppel. Make Curry proud, young one.