3‑Point crown by a single make

Kon Knueppel beat LaMelo Ball by one make in the three-point final, turning a Charlotte shooting showcase into one of the weekend’s most-circulated clips. (x.com) The margin was a single made shot in the last round, with SportsCenter posting the finish as Knueppel topped Ball in the head-to-head final. The result spread quickly across social video on April 13, 2026. (x.com) The contest landed one day after Charlotte closed the regular season at 44-38 with a 110-96 win over New York on April 12. In that game, Knueppel hit three more three-pointers and finished the season with 273, which National Basketball Association game coverage called a rookie record and the league lead. (nba.com) LaMelo Ball also finished the season above the same threshold, giving Charlotte two players with at least 270 made threes. SportsCenter said Knueppel and Ball were the first teammates to do that in one season since Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. (x.com) That number is unusual because most teams do not have two high-volume shooters clearing 270 in the same year. Charlotte’s team stats list Ball at 3.8 made threes per game and Knueppel at 3.4, both on more than 7.9 attempts per game. (espn.com) Knueppel’s season gives the contest finish extra weight because he was not just a hot hand for one night. He entered the league in 2025 as the No. 4 draft pick, and by April 12 he had become the 13th National Basketball Association player to reach 270 threes in a season, according to league game coverage. (espn.com) (nba.com) Ball’s presence in the final fit his season profile too. Charlotte’s official leaders page lists him at 20.1 points and 7.2 assists per game, while team shooting stats show him averaging 3.8 made threes a night. (nba.com) (espn.com) Charlotte now heads into the play-in with its backcourt producing the kind of long-range volume usually associated with Golden State’s Curry-Thompson era. The three-point final ended with one shot separating the Hornets teammates, and their regular season ended with the same idea: two shooters, almost no gap. (nba.com) (x.com)