The fourth three-pointer came from the corner in the fourth quarter, and the building already knew what it meant before the ball touched the net. Kon Knueppel's 261st three-pointer of the season broke Kemba Walker's franchise record of 260, set during the 2018-19 season. Head coach Charles Lee doused him with water on the bench. The crowd at Spectrum Center stood for a twenty-year-old rookie who has been in the league for less than a calendar year.
"I think maybe I've surpassed my expectations for myself a little bit," Knueppel said afterward.
The Hornets beat the Phoenix Suns 127-107 on Thursday night, their second consecutive win after dropping back-to-back games to Philadelphia and Boston last week. Charlotte improved to 41-36 and holds the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference with five games remaining.
Knueppel's Record: 261 Three-Pointers and Counting
Knueppel has made 261 three-pointers this season, leading the NBA. He broke the league's all-time rookie record — Keegan Murray's 206 in 80 games — back in February, in his 59th game. Now he holds the franchise mark too, passing the most popular player in Charlotte Hornets history in his first professional season.
Walker set the previous record seven years ago during a season the Hornets finished 39-43 and missed the playoffs. He made 260 three-pointers that year and nobody outside Charlotte paid much attention. When Charlotte tied the franchise team three-point record against Sacramento on March 24, Knueppel had 247. Fourteen games later, he owns the record outright.
Knueppel's record came during a season where the Hornets are playing meaningful games in April for the first time since 2016. The corner three that broke it was not his best shot of the night. He finished with 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting, 4-of-9 from deep, with the kind of release that looks the same whether the shot matters or not.
"You definitely feel it," Knueppel said of the crowd's energy during the record-breaking stretch. Five games remain to add to it.
Hornets Erase Eight-Point Deficit, Outscore Suns 69-39 in Second and Third Quarters
Phoenix made it interesting for twelve minutes. The Suns shot 16-of-24 in the first quarter and built a 41-33 lead behind Jalen Green (25 points, 10-of-19) and Devin Booker (22 points, 9-of-22). Charlotte has seen enough of these early deficits this season to know that surviving the first quarter is not the same as losing the game.
The Hornets outscored Phoenix 33-19 in the second quarter, took a 66-60 lead into halftime, and stretched it in the third. The final margin was twenty points.
Miles Bridges, LaMelo Ball Lead Balanced Attack
Miles Bridges led Charlotte with 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting and 4-of-8 from three — his most efficient night of the stretch run. Brandon Miller added 17 on 7-of-14 with four assists. LaMelo Ball scored 15 points and distributed 11 assists against the Suns' switching defense, content to find the open man rather than force the issue. Ball has played 66 of 77 games this season, the healthiest year of his professional career.
Coby White and Ryan Kalkbrenner Anchor the Bench
The bench delivered. Coby White scored 19 points in 20 minutes, continuing a late-season resurgence that has given Charlotte real second-unit scoring for the first time since January. Ryan Kalkbrenner — the other 2025 draft pick — added 8 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 blocks in 23 minutes, altering shots at the rim every time Phoenix tried to go inside. Charlotte outshot Phoenix 52 percent to 46 percent for the game.
Eastern Conference Play-In Standings After the Win
Charlotte sits eighth in the Eastern Conference at 41-36. The play-in picture has shifted: Philadelphia (42-34) climbed into the sixth seed, leaving Toronto (42-34) seventh and Charlotte eighth. Orlando (40-36) holds ninth, Miami (40-37) tenth.
The difference between seventh and eighth matters. Both the 7-seed and the 8-seed get two chances — lose the first play-in game and there is still one more to reach the postseason. The 9-vs-10 game is single elimination. Charlotte is positioned for the safer path, but only if they hold the eighth seed through the final five games: Indiana (Thursday), Minnesota (Sunday), Boston (Tuesday), Detroit (Friday), and the regular-season finale at New York on April 12.
The Pacers arrive at Spectrum Center tomorrow night for the second half of a back-to-back.
What Knueppel's Record Means for the Hornets' Season
Knueppel's record will get the headline, and it should. A rookie breaking a franchise mark held by the most popular player in team history is the kind of thing Charlotte has waited a decade to celebrate. Walker's number stood for seven years. Knueppel erased it in his first season, with five games to add to it.
But the record happened inside a 20-point win, on a night when five Hornets scored in double figures and Ball ran the offense without needing to score it. The franchise record for three-pointers in a season had belonged to a player who set it during a losing year. Knueppel set it during a year that might not be.