The Charlotte Hornets struck gold with the selection of sharpshooting wing Kon Nueppel with the fourth overall pick of the 2025 NBA Draft. Knueppel has made an immediate impact for the Hornets thanks to his consistently excellent play, leading them to the Eastern Conference playoff picture. Many believed that his skills would easily translate to the NBA game, but even Knueppel's most optimistic supporters would not have guessed that he would play so well so early in his professional career.
On Tuesday night, in a comfortable win over the faltering Chicago Bulls, Knueppel had another solid regular season, scoring 21 points on an efficient 7-12 from the field and 3-6 from beyond the arc as the Hornets blew a lead of over 30 points.
Knueppel entered the night just two three-pointers short of his career-high 200 points; In surpassing the triple, he needed only 58 games to surpass that figure, which is the fastest ever performance in NBA history, as reported by the official ClutchPoints account on X (formerly Twitter).
The Hornets sharpshooter is quickly on his way to becoming one of the most prolific outside shooters in league history, and considering how important shooting skills are, especially in today's NBA, Knueppel is well on his way to becoming one of the league's best players.
Kon Nueppel is the jewel of the Hornets' rebuild
It's not at all clear that Knuppel is truly the crown jewel of the Hornets' rebuild. LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller are incredible players in their own right, but Knueppel's unstoppable scoring ability and efficient volume production from beyond the arc have made him one of the most valuable players in the association, especially considering he is only 20 years old.
On the season, Knueppel averaged 19.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game on 49/44/89 shooting splits.
