Kon Knueppel is a different breed. At 20 years old, he is already one of the best shooters in the league. He is even on the way to becoming the only rookie to average over 18 points per game while registering a true shooting percentage of better than 62 percent. Why is it that special, though? That’s because the players he overtook on the list are big men or guys who are tall for their position.
First off, it’s important to know what true shooting percentage measures. The advanced statistic provides a more accurate picture of a player’s shooting efficiency by assigning different weights to 2-point field goals, 3-point makes, and free throws.
Typically, centers lead the league in true shooting percentage. To wit, nine of the top-10 career leaders in the stat are bigs or power forwards, led by Rudy Gobert (67.3 percent), Jarrett Allen (67.0 percent), and DeAndre Jordan (64.4 percent). The only exception is the greatest shooter of all time, Stephen Curry.
So, putting that in perspective, Knueppel, who is recording 19.1 points per game with a true shooting percentage of 64.8 percent, having a better shooting rookie campaign than the likes of Zion Williamson, Magic Johnson, David Robinson, and Michael Jordan definitely deserves more attention. If he does not fall off a cliff, he should end up owning the highest true shooting percentage of any rookie to post at least 18 points per contest.
Hornets’ home-run pick
It’s worth noting that players nowadays have generally been shooting better from the field. While Knueppel’s true shooting percentage would be third overall in the career leaderboard, it actually ranks 15th this season. Still, that’s not as bad as it sounds, considering no other first-year player qualified in the top 69 — Maxime Raynaud is No. 70.
Is that enough to solidify Knueppel’s candidacy for the Rookie of the Year? It should certainly help. Not only has he been excelling on a team that features three other legitimate scorers in LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, and Miles Bridges, but he has also been an efficient bucket-getter despite the attention he has attracted from defenses.
The ROY plum is probably the only achievement on the Hornets star’s mind, though, as are the rookie records he has continued to break, including the possibility of becoming the first rookie to lead the league in 3-pointers by the end of the regular season. He likely has the playoffs in his mind, and his shooting, as well as his two-way prowess, could help the squad get there.
Reaching that stage is an uphill climb, as Charlotte is just No. 10 in the Eastern Conference at the moment. Still, the fact that it has beaten some of the league’s best teams this year increases its odds of winning in the play-in tournament. Also, with Knueppel capable of shooting lights out at any given night, the Hornets have a potent weapon to help them secure the necessary wins to advance to the playoffs.