Kon Knueppel, a rookie who is doing well for the Hornets

Besides having fairy fingers, Knuppel could shows off his wrought iron mind week after week! Hornets rookie was a ray of sunshine in a still complicated first part of the regular season for Charles Lee’s team (13 wins – 23 losses). And it intends to continue to shine in 2026, starting with this very busy month of January, which has already been marked rapper victory on the field of Oklahoma City.

“I saw that in January we had about 17 matches, including 11 away games. he snuck up to the Charlotte Observermore motivated than ever before this new challenge.

Head and legs

On the floor, Kon Knuppel already ticks many boxes. He first proved he could be counted on in the NBA in his rookie season. Then he struck a big blow by becoming the fastest player in history league reached 100 three-pointers in his career, in only 29 games.

Despite the volume, the efficiency impresses. Only two have made 80 3-pointers this season while shooting 40%+ from beyond the arc: Stephen Curry and Kon Knuepel!

“yeah it’s cool”he replies soberly. “He’s definitely an exceptional scorer… It’s always cool to be mentioned in the same sentence with him”. The most interesting thing is that the rookie does not hide behind his percentages. He talks about routine, body maintenance and daily discipline to keep up with the beat.

“I think you always have to be motivated to play. For me, I want to play every match. (…) So it’s more a question of reactivity. You don’t say to yourself ‘Oh no, my ankles hurt…’, but rather ‘Okay, my shoulder hurts, I’ll work on it during the week’. (…) I was also very proactive and medical work in rehabilitation” he explains in detail.

A season of challenges

Kon Knuppel has already identified very specific areas for improvement in the game. Defensively, he wants to go from a spot-up starter to a disruptive defender, able to read the action before it starts. And his coach has highlighted his ability to learn quickly and find his zones in recent weeks.

“Defensively, one thing I can definitely improve on is being more unpredictable. I tend to be where I have to stand to defend against the guy in front of me. But maybe I could deflect more of the ball this way? I think it comes with a little more anticipation, more awareness of it, knowing the action that’s going to happen before it happens, and then it happens.

The same thing for the attack, where he still has to diversify his palette, which he has succeeded remarkably so far, through his opportunism and aggressiveness towards the circle.

“I saw that in the last two matches I played a lot more on that. I think it’s hard for any shooter to get inside, it takes a lot of practice, not just shooting threes. It’s hard to get rid of this rhythm.” confirms again.

Every challenge is an opportunity to improve, individually and collectively, and the one presented tonight against Toronto could mark a turning point in the Hornets’ season. After three failures, Charlotte has the opportunity to secure a third consecutive victory for the first time this year.

How to read statistics? MJ = matches played; Min = Minute; Shots = Shots Successful / Shots Attempted; 3 points = 3 points / attempt 3 points; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive jump; Tot = Total number of jumps; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal mistakes; Int = intercepts; Bp = lost balls; Ct: Against; Points = Points.