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Hornets win first Summer League title

Originally posted on Ball Exclusives | By Titan Frey | Last updated Jul 21, 2025 10:51 AM ET

The NBA 2K26 Summer League is officially in the books. The victor is the Charlotte Hornets, defeating the Sacramento Kings 83-78, winning their first Summer League title.

Wasn’t easy, but that’s a dub.

The #Hornets just won the first Summer League Championship in franchise history, after a late push from Sacramento to cut an 18-point lead to one.

Kon Knueppel led the Hornets with 21 points.

FINAL: Charlotte 83, Sacramento 78 @wsoctv

— DaShawn Brown (@DaShawnWSOC9) July 21, 2025

The Hornets were led by Kon Knueppel, who was selected fourth in this year’s NBA Draft. Knueppel scored 21 points in the championship game, while adding five rebounds and two assists.

Knueppel drained a three-pointer with 31.1 seconds left in the game that gave the Hornets a four-point lead and sealed the championship.

“Like I said before, if you’re going to come here, you should win,” Knueppel said. “So, that’s what we did.”

The Hornets will savor this championship, as they are not close to winning an NBA title. This is a good sign for Charlotte, as they have some solid young players to build around for the future.

This article first appeared on Ball Exclusives and was syndicated with permission.

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