This regular season has delivered several positive surprises and storylines, and one of the most pleasant has been the burst of the Charlotte Hornets as one of the most exciting teams to keep an eye on. And at the center of that rise, besides the stellar play of Brandon Miller and the steady improvements of LaMelo Ball , has been the rookie sensation, Kon Knueppel .
Knueppel has wasted no time getting into his own in the big boys league, and he is giving the, for most, clear favorite to win the Rookie of the Year from the start of the season, Cooper Flagg , a real run for his money. However, Kon's displays have left almost no one without a comment, and one of the latest to give the Duke product his well-deserved flowers was Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr .
"I think we are going to see it with Kon Knueppel doing what he is doing in his rookie year, this is probably the first generation of rookies who have really grown up and learned basketball watching Steph Curry, and watching the style of play these days. With the pace, and the three-point shots…" Kerr said in his recent appearance on the "Dan Patrick Show."
"With Knueppel, it is already where I am right away. You can see what a great shooter he is, and the volume. I think you are going to start seeing more and more players who come in with that approach, because analytically and stylistically the game has really evolved over the last decade to where it is now," he added.
Knueppel indeed is a great player with an already superb shooting touch. This season, he is averaging 18.8 points, shooting 42.4 percent from deep and 89.7 percent from the free throw line, which is elite, especially considering he is just a rookie. Kerr applauded the astronomical rise of the fourth overall pick, but he also emphasized that Kon is a true example of the revolution that happened in the game of basketball, started by Stephen Curry .
As the saying goes, monkey see, monkey do, and while we are not trying to compare anyone to that intelligent animal, the fact is that young hoopers over the last decade have spent countless hours watching the greatest shooter of all time casually pull up from well beyond the arc the moment he crosses half court. They tried to do the same, and here we are.
Knueppel is simply an evolutionary byproduct of this new generation, and there will continue to be more examples like him. Steph deserves a lot of credit for that shift in mindset.
"It really is remarkable when you think about how Steph has impacted the game beyond just the records and Championships and everything else. It really is an art form with him," Kerr concluded.
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And while he is getting flowers from Kerr and others, Knueppel is a man on a mission. The Hornets are currently the hottest team in the NBA, riding an eight-game winning streak, including a 109-99 victory against a strong Houston Rockets side. Apart from the team success, Kon is also second in the Rookie of the Year race according to the latest rankings, while Flagg has taken over the No. 1 spot thanks to his recent surge in form.
Nevertheless, the race is still far from over, and a couple of big explosions from Knueppel can easily push him back to the top position he held for so long. The future looks bright in Charlotte, and for Kon individually, if he continues this evolution, we might be talking about one of the greatest sharpshooters of his generation. Still, he has a long way to go.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Feb 6, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
