Former Duke basketball freshman star and the No. 4 overall 2025 NBA Draft selection Kon Knueppel is already breaking records through the first few games of his NBA career, and he's now the favorite to take home this season's Rookie of the Year award. Knueppel came into the league regarded as the best outside shooter in this draft class, a skill he put on display regularly at Duke, but not many around the league believed in the wing's ability to be a true No. 1 scoring option on an NBA team. With LaMelo Ball dealing with injuries, Knueppel has put his true scoring ability on display for the Charlotte Hornets, and it's not limited to just shooting.
Now, NBA Hall of Famer and one of the greatest shooters in the history of the game, Reggie Miller, has given Knueppel the ultimate praise. He not only compared the former Blue Devil to Stephen Curry, the greatest shooter to ever live, but even said that Curry may "be nervous" years down the line with how elite Knueppel's shooting has been to begin his career. Obviously, it's far too early to tell if Knueppel will end up being one of the best shooters ever, but if the beginning of his career is any indication, he's in for a storied career.
NBA legend Reggie Miller says Stephen Curry should be "nervous" over Kon Knueppel's beginning to pro career
On a recent episode of the Dan Patrick Show, Miller made an appearance and praised Knueppel's early shooting, even bringing up the greatest shooter to ever live.
"Dare I say this... is Stephen Curry going to be a little nervous in about 15 years? Just go back and look at Steph's first 2-3 years in terms of 3-pointers made and what Kon has done this year," Miller said.
Wow. Heck of a statement.
Knueppel has been nothing short of special to begin his career in Charlotte. Through just nine career NBA games, the rookie set the NBA record for made threes through his first four career games with 16, and then broke the record for made threes through a player's first seven career games with 22. Over a recent 10-game span, Knueppel averaged 22.7 points and 6.5 rebounds on 51% shooting from the field, 42% shooting from three, and 94% shooting from the free throw line, becoming the third rookie in league history to average 20 or more points per game on 50/40/90 shooting splits across a span of ten or more games.
On the season, the Wisconsin native is averaging 19.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.9 assists a night on 49.1% shooting from the field, 43.8% shooting from three, and 90% shooting from the charity stripe. He currently leads rookies in points per game and three point percentage.
Now, Knueppel has knocked down 63 threes so far. Curry has knocked down 4,131 across his career, including 166 as a rookie, and still isn't done. Knueppel has a long way to go, but is already catching the eyes of legends.