Charlotte Hornets rookie guard Kon Knueppel finished third in the State Farm 3-Point Contest at NBA All-Star Weekend on Saturday in Inglewood, California.
Knueppel tipped off the festivities at the Intuit Dome, recording a score of 27 in the first round of the eight-player competition. He advanced to the championship round as one of the top three scorers, along with Damian Lillard (27) and Devin Booker (30).
The fourth overall pick led off the second round, scoring 17 points. But Lillard surpassed him on his next turn with 29 points, which topped the 27 points Booker finished with, to win his third competition, tied for the most in history (Larry Bird, Craig Hodges).
DAME TIME... FOR THE THIRD TIME!
— NBA (@NBA) February 14, 2026
He is now a 3x Champion of the @StateFarm NBA 3-Point Contest 🏆 pic.twitter.com/M3CBaohU5Q
Knueppel became the sixth different player in franchise history to compete in the event, along with Dell Curry, Scott Burrell, Glen Rice, Kemba Walker and Devonte’ Graham. He tied Burrell, Rice and Walker for the highest finish by a Hornets player.
The 20-year-old is averaging 18.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists while shooting 43.1% from 3-point range in 54 appearances with the Hornets. He is second in the league in total 3-pointers (183) and is second in the rookie class in scoring.
Knueppel in December became the fastest player in history to reach 100 career 3-pointers, doing so in 29 total games. He is currently on pace to shatter the rookie record for a season, set by Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray in 2022-23 (206).
This article originally appeared on Rookie Wire: Hornets news: Rookie Kon Knueppel finishes third in 3-Point Contest