The numbers are staggering. Kon Knueppel, the Charlotte Hornets rookie sharpshooter, did not just have a good three-point shooting season. He did not just rank highly among first-year players. He completely and utterly shattered the NBA rookie record for three-pointers made, draining a league-high 273 threes over the course of the season.
- That is not a typo. That is a record-breaking, history-making, jaw-dropping total that no rookie in the entire history of the NBA has ever matched.
And he still lost Rookie of the Year.
Charlotte Hornets fans are understandably furious, and the outrage online has been intense since the voting results dropped. The argument is simple and hard to dismiss how does a player break an all-time NBA record, lead the entire league in a major statistical category, and come up short in the award voting? The answer, apparently, is Cooper Flagg.
Supporters of Knueppel are not just venting. They are making a legitimate case that his impact on the game specifically his historic ability to stretch defenses and create space from beyond the arc deserved more recognition from the voters who decided this award.
Whether you agree with the final result or not, one thing is not up for debate. Kon Knueppel made history this season. The record is his, permanently and undeniably, no matter what the voting said.
