Kon Knueppel broke another record on Thursday. However, Brian Windhorst believes the Charlotte Hornets rookie wonder can etch his name in the history books in another way that even the biggest of his fans might find absurd — by joining the ranks of players to score 70 in a game.
"Look, this is not gonna happen this year, okay?" Windhorst said about the 70-point topic on NBA Today. "But if you're looking for somebody who can maybe do it in the future, may I offer up a guy who can knock down some threes. ... How about Kon Knueppel II? First off, there are stories out there of 70-point AAU games. ... I'm just saying, not this year, but down the line."
The ESPN reporter suggested it a few hours before the Hornets' matchup against the Indiana Pacers, which many fans had likely tuned into because Knueppel entered the contest just five 3-pointers away from tying Keegan Murray's record of most threes in a season by a rookie. He eclipsed it, hitting eight and setting the current record to 209 with 22 games to go in the 2025-26 regular season.
Now that's out of the way, fans can focus on whether Knueppel can become the first-ever rookie to lead the league in 3-pointers made and hit 300. Given his penchant for smashing records, it wouldn't be surprising if he accomplishes either of those feats.
But becoming the 11th player to enter the 70-point club? That might be stretching it.
Joining the prestigious circle?
First of all, it's important to know how tough it is to put up 70 points. Aside from Wilt Chamberlain, who did it six times, every other member of the club had been able to do it only once. Granted, we have seen it happen more frequently after Kobe Bryant's 81-pointer in 2006 made him the first player since David Robinson in 1994 to reach the 70-point mark. Since then, five other stars have scored that much, including Devin Booker in 2017, Donovan Mitchell and Damian Lillard in 2023, and Joel Embiid and Luka Doncic in 2024.
All of them are volume scorers, which Knueppel is evidently not. Maybe things will change sometime in the future, but if he continues to suit up alongside LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller, the star swingman likely won't have to play a high-usage game.
On the other hand, his efficiency could allow him to go on a scoring explosion. Doncic showed that scoring 70 doesn't require a ton of field-goal attempts, as he logged 73 points on 25-33 shooting from the field, including eight 3-pointers, and 15-16 from the free-throw line. Mitchell's 71-point outing also came on just 34 field-goal attempts (22 makes), but he did make 25 trips to the charity stripe and sank 20 of them.
Will Knueppel have such a high-volume-shooting night that could lead him to putting up at least 70 points? Perhaps the real question is whether he would even want to do it? Windhorst appears to think so. And now that he has mentioned it, some Hornets fans might be eager to see the Rookie of the Year frontrunner go on such a scoring binge.