Earlier in the week while discussing the field for the 3-point shooting contest at the NBA’s 2026 All-Star festivities in Los Angeles, Kon Knueppel must’ve had an inkling.
Sure, the Charlotte Hornets rookie understood he was up against the likes of Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell and Phoenix’s Devin Booker. However, of all the people that came to mind, the first name that rolled off Knueppel’s tongue was Portland star Damian Lillard.
“Dame’s in it,” Knueppel said. “He hasn’t played in the game all year, so that was a little bit of a surprise to me, but he’s one of the all-time great 3-point shooters.”
Turns out Lillard, along with Booker, was indeed tough to beat.
Knueppel finished third behind Lillard and Booker to kick off All-Star Saturday night at the Intuit Dome. His final-round score of 17 wasn’t enough to get it done against Lillard (29) and Booker (27).
Lillard, invited to be a part of the festivities despite not playing all season while recovering from a torn Achilles, joined Craig Hodges and Larry Bird as the lone only players to win the event three times.
“Yeah, it’s cool,” Knueppel told The Charlotte Observer in a phone interview afterward. “I’m glad I got to shoot twice. But obviously, a little disappointed. Would have wanted the win.”
A hot opening round catapulted Knueppel into the final session.
Unfazed as the first shooter of the event — and the first player introduced to the masses — Knueppel scorched the nets to the tune of 27 points. He beat out Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey, Mitchell of Philadelphia, Denver’s Jamal Murray, Milwaukee’s Bobby Portis Jr. and Miami’s Norman Powell to reach the championship round.
“It was kind of fun to kind of set the tone right away for a score, get out there,” Knueppel said. “But it did kind of bite me in the (behind) as I had to sit down for 30 minutes for that second round. Got a little cold, but it was pretty fun to get out there.
“I probably should have got up and stretched a little bit, moved around. But yeah, that was part of the issue. Otherwise, just make shots.”
Knueppel’s performance in the 3-point contest preceded his participation in the Shooting Stars on Team Duke with Atlanta’s Jalen Johnson and former Blue Devil Corey Maggette. That came a day after he suited up as a member of Team T-Mac coached by Tracy McGrady in the Rising Stars.
Toss in an appearance at the NBA’s tech summit with good buddy and fellow Duke product Cooper Flagg on Friday, and it was quite the whirlwind for the 20-year-old.
“It was cool,” Knueppel said. “Cool to get down here and I’m glad I got to experience it. And I’m looking forward to a little bit of off time, get rested and get ready to go for the rest of the season.”
Roderick Boone
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