Reggie Miller still believes Kon Kneuppel will challenge Steph Curry’s all-time NBA threes record

Charlotte Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel has quickly cemented himself as smart NBA analysts’ favorite first-year player.

The big, smooth-shooting wing who hoops fans met as one of the many great freshmen on last year’s Final Four squad at Duke has hit the ground running in the pros. After being selected fourth overall, Kneuppel is shooting an impressive 40.3 percent from deep to start his career, to go with 18 points, six rebounds, and three assists per game. As a result, Knueppel is second only to his former Blue Devils teammate Cooper Flagg in Rookie of the Year odds.

The early resume has been enough to earn Knueppel the admiration of a top NBA analyst who is also one of the greatest shooters in league history.

In two recent segments on The Dan Patrick Show, Indiana Pacers legend and new NBC commentator Reggie Miller has not only predicted Knueppel will, in fact, win Rookie of the Year, but also that the young Charlotte star will be the next player to push for the league’s all-time three-pointer record — a mark Miller himself also held for many years.

Miller started the hype train in late November, suggesting Steph Curry should “be a little nervous in about 15 years.”

This week, Miller rejoined Patrick’s show and doubled down on his prediction, calling it a “given” that Knueppel will win Rookie of the Year and laying out the young Hornet’s case to overtake Curry in the history books.

“The question will be for Kon, will he be a go-to guy the way Steph was a go-to guy from Year 5 through now,” Miller said. “Because his first three or four years, he was injury-riddled. So Kon will have those numbers on Steph for the first three years. The question going forward will be in year four and give, where is his development and where is he in the pecking order?”

While Miller partially hedged his take behind Curry’s inconsistent health record and some light teasing of the Hornets and how they might ruin Knueppel, his general theory is easy to prove. Back when Curry entered the league, even separate from his persistent ankle injuries, players’ three-point volume was not as high as it is now. Knueppel is attempting nearly double the amount of threes per game that Curry did as a rookie.

Some day, a player (who likely will not be as skilled a shooter as Curry off a sprint or from deep range) will break Curry’s record due in large part to simple math. Miller correctly notes that Curry has aged impressively since recovering from early ankle troubles, which has helped him extend his lead since stealing it from Ray Allen.

It may sound like a hot take now, but Miller identifies a relatively anonymous player like Knueppel as the future three-point king of the NBA. However, all it will take is a rookie who hits the ground running and shoots at an elite clip on high volume immediately. So far, Knueppel checks all those boxes.