The Charlotte Hornets have hit a rough patch in recent weeks, dropping six of their last seven games as injuries continue to mount. LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller have each missed time, leaving Charlotte short-handed during a difficult stretch of the schedule.
One bright spot, however, has been the emergence of rookie forward Kon Knueppel, who is rapidly proving himself one of the best value picks of the 2025 NBA Draft.
Knueppel has been particularly impressive over his last three outings, averaging more than 21 points per game. That stretch includes a career-high 32-point performance against the Milwaukee Bucks, showcasing his combination of size, shooting touch and poise for a first-year player.
Through the early portion of the season, Knueppel leads all rookies in scoring while producing standout efficiency. He is shooting 46.5 percent from the field, 40.2 percent from beyond the arc and 88.2 percent from the free-throw line — numbers rarely seen from a rookie wing in his first NBA campaign.
His full-season averages — 17.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists — put him on a trajectory to join elite company.
If Knueppel finishes the year with at least 15 points and five rebounds per game while shooting 40 percent or better from three, he would join Boston Celtics legends Larry Bird and Paul Pierce as the only players in NBA history to reach that combination across an entire season as a rookie, per Hornets Reddit.
Even more notably, Knueppel sits just shy of the prestigious 50/40/90 shooting threshold. Only nine players have ever achieved that level of efficiency, and only Bird, Steve Nash and Kevin Durant have done it multiple times. While it is still early in both the season and his career, Knueppel’s shooting profile suggests he could be on the path to a historic rookie campaign.
The Hornets and their standout first-year forward return to action Wednesday when they face the Indiana Pacers.
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