Rookie leads in 3s
Rookie Kon Knueppel led the NBA in three‑pointers made this season, finishing at the top of the league’s long‑range list. (x.com) His volume from deep became one of the headline rookie narratives as teams shifted into playoff‑prep mode. (x.com)
Kon Knueppel finished the 2025-26 regular season as the National Basketball Association’s leader in made three-pointers, a rare scoring title for a rookie. (nba.com) Knueppel, a 20-year-old Charlotte Hornets wing and the No. 4 pick in the 2025 draft, ended the season with 273 made threes in 81 games. ESPN lists him at 18.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. (nba.com, espn.com) He had already broken the National Basketball Association rookie record on February 26, 2026, when his 207th three-pointer passed Keegan Murray’s 206 from 2022-23. Knueppel got there in 59 games, while Murray needed 80. (nba.com) Charlotte kept adding milestones after that. On April 2, Knueppel made his 261st three-pointer to pass Kemba Walker’s Hornets single-season franchise record of 260 from 2018-19. (nba.com, sports.yahoo.com) The three-point line sits 23 feet, 9 inches from the basket at the top of the arc in the National Basketball Association, and teams now build offenses around creating those shots. League leaders are usually veteran guards with high-usage roles, not first-year players adjusting to pro defenses and an 82-game schedule. (nba.com, britannica.com) Knueppel’s season turned that pattern on its head. By December 22, 2025, the league said he had become the fastest player in National Basketball Association history to reach 100 career made threes. (nba.com) His shooting also fed directly into the Rookie of the Year debate. National Basketball Association and team coverage both framed his record chase as part of his award case as Charlotte closed the season. (nba.com, espn.com) The final number matters on two levels: Knueppel did not just set a rookie mark, he finished above every veteran in the league’s regular-season three-point standings. That put a first-year player at the top of one of the National Basketball Association’s most watched volume categories by the season’s close. (landofbasketball.com, sports.yahoo.com) For Charlotte, the season ended without a playoff run, but Knueppel’s shooting gave the franchise a clear offensive marker heading into the summer. For the league, the long-range leaderboard ended with a rookie’s name on top. (sports.yahoo.com, nba.com)
