Kon Knueppel Made History, Then Got Hit in the Head by a Fan’s Ill-Advised Shot

Kon Knueppel had another big game on Thursday night as the Hornets beat the Knicks for their fifth straight win. Knueppel had 26 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists and Charlotte is now just 1.5 games out of the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Earlier this week Knueppel spoke to Sports Illustrated's Blake Silverman and revealed that playoff positioning is in fact on people's minds in Charlotte: “That’s what we’ve been focused on and we want to get to the upper part of the play-in or maybe even sneak out of it and get the six seed so we don’t have to worry about it."

Knueppel also talked about the Hornets postseason aspirations after the win over the Knicks saying they wanted to play in "big-time games" and that the team was treating end of the regular season like "playoff-like games."

🎙️ Kon Knueppel: "We want to play in big-time games. This is a big-time game. The rest of these games for us are big-time, playoff-like games. They determine our seeding, and we want to give ourselves the best chance we can for the playoffs." pic.twitter.com/XIxCsCSIGs
— r/CharlotteHornets (@HornetsReddit) March 27, 2026

Knueppel also told SI that the team was committed to their brand of basketball and that was on full display against New York as the Hornets shot 41 three-pointers, which is just under their season average of 42.8. Brandon Miller and LaMelo Ball both made four three's, but as usual, Knueppel was the real star behind the arc.

Knueppel made 6-of-10 three-pointers and in the process made his 250th three of the season, which is a new NBA record—Knueppel is the fastest player to ever get to 250 three-pointers and the first person under 22-years old to make 250 three-pointers in a season.

Knueppel doesn't even turn 21 until August. Stephen Curry was still living in a dorm room at that age and didn't make 250 three-pointers in a single season until his fourth season. You can see why people are entertaining thoughts about Knueppel possibly passing him someday.

Kon sinks his 5th three from deep 🎯

Knueppel (252 3PM) is the only player age 22 or younger in NBA history to record 250 3PM in a season! pic.twitter.com/kYH4BJXmK8
— NBA (@NBA) March 27, 2026

While Knueppel needed just 14 field goal attempts to score 26 points last night, he did take one shot that didn't show up in the box score. After he drove to the basket in the fourth quarter and drew a foul on Jalen Brunson the ball flew into the stands. As he was walking to the free throw line the ball hit him in the back of the head.

A fan had caught the ball and tried to take his own shot from behind the basket. It completely missed the backboard and nailed the home team's young star. Fellow rookie Ryan Kalkbrenner appeared to see the ball coming, but he didn't act in time to save his teammate.

A fan tries to hit the high arc shot from over the backboard and hits the back of Kon Knuppel's head (with a replay) pic.twitter.com/IGhd3jpmDH
— r/nba_highlights (@rNBAHighlights) March 27, 2026

Knueppel was obviously shaken up because he proceeded to miss his first free throw. He's over 86% from the line on the season so he did bounce back and make the second. And since he's 43.8% from three this season he then came down and hit another three-pointer on the Hornets’ next possession.

He's also 48.9% from the field this season which is why he seems destined to one day have a 50/40/90 season which has only happened 12 times in NBA history. This truly is an incredible rookie season.

The Hornets continue their season on Saturday night against the 76ers, one of the three teams currently standing between them and the No. 6 seed. With Joel Embiid and Paul George back in the Philadelphia lineup, it promises to be another big-time game.

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