Oct 11, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard/forward Kon Knueppel (7) dribbles up court against the Dallas Mavericks in the first half of a game at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

Kon Knueppel is the Hornets player Bill Simmons simply can't stop talking about

Originally posted on Charlotte Hornets on SI
By Colin Keane | Last updated Oct 16, 2025 8:00 AM ET

Charlotte Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel might not have a more ardent supporter outside of his own family than The Ringer’s Bill Simmons. In September, Simmons famously guaranteed on-air that Knueppel would make the 2028 U.S. Olympic team.

"I'm guaranteeing (Knueppel) will be one of the 12 guys in 2028," Simmons declared during an episode of The Zach Lowe Show . "He is perfect for international basketball. Can play multiple positions, can switch on defense, knows where to go and what to do … very Derrick Whiteish. Just knows how to fit in with other guys and can shoot."

Bill Simmons ‘guarantees’ that Kon Knueppel will be on the 2028 US Olympic Basketball Team. pic.twitter.com/XkU7nxFo0X
— Matt Alquiza (@malquiza8) September 11, 2025

On Wednesday, during a new episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast, Simmons brought up Knueppel once again after Zach Lowe referenced the Olympics comment.

Bill Simmons can’t stop talking about Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel

Simmons was talking about the 2025 draft class (and its impressive array of talent) in a conversation with Lowe and Joe House.

“This draft is night and day from last year,” Simmons said. “Last year … Reed Sheppard was the third pick and just was like a G League player. We (still) don't know if he's good or not.”

“This year's draft, Cooper Flagg has a chance to be like a transformative star,” Simmons continued. “I think (Dylan) Harper is really special. (VJ) Edgecombe is going to be winning Twitter, and NBA Reddit, and Instagram. Ace Bailey, we are fascinated by.”

That’s when Lowe interjected to tease Simmons.

“Did you intentionally skip over Bill Simmons’ 2028 Olympian, Kon Knueppel?” Lowe quipped. “Is he above this discussion?”

“I talked to my lawyers,” Simmons replied. “And they said, ‘Only talk about Kon during the Charlotte part, 'cause it's getting weird.’ So I'm just trying to obey that.”

“He's another one, though,” Simmons continued, in earnest. “He's gonna play 35 minutes a game.”

“This has a chance to be an all-time (draft),” Simmons added.

If Knueppel does end up playing that many minutes every night for the Hornets, he’s sure to improve drastically over the course of this season. It’s still unclear whether or not Knueppel will be in Charles Lee’s starting lineup, but that’s not a crucial detail right now.

Knueppel and the Hornets were set to take the court for their penultimate preseason game on Wednesday night against the Memphis Grizzlies at First Horizon Coliseum.

Charlotte will close out its preseason on Friday with a road game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. After that, Knueppel's real NBA debut will take place.