Jul 14, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Kon Knueppel (7) dribbles the ball against the Dallas Mavericks during the second half of a NBA basketball game at the Thomas & Mack Center. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images

Kon Knueppel, KJ Simpson disagree on Summer League Championship MVP award

Originally posted on Charlotte Hornets on SI
By Zach Roberts | Last updated Jul 21, 2025 8:53 AM ET

Kon Knueppel's Summer League ascension with the Charlotte Hornets concluded on Sunday night by helping bring the title to Charlotte for the first time ever. Knueppel scored 21 points (albeit on 21 shots) to lead the team in scoring, and it helped him earn Championship MVP. He also added five rebounds and four made threes.

The MVP award was given to the player who impacted winning the most in the final game, not the entire six-game stretch over which Charlotte went unbeaten. Still, Knueppel believes that KJ Simpson, who scored 11 points with seven rebounds and five assists, deserved the award.

He said, "Winning is always better than losing. Good competitive game, good to get out here with the guys. I probably didn't deserve it if it was a whole-week award. KJ (Simpson) was our best player all week. So props to him, man, he made me look good."

Simpson averaged nearly 20 points a night ahead of his second season with the Hornets. He was a second-round pick who really came into his own this summer, and Knueppel would've picked him for MVP.

KJ Simpson after Kon Knueppel said he should've won MVP:

"Na he deserved that... it was a good team win."

Hornets are the #NBA2KSummerLeague champs pic.twitter.com/uUnL9EbCIL
— NBA (@NBA) July 21, 2025

Simpson disagreed. "Kon, nah, he deserved that, man. He played excellent this game. We all played excellent, it could have been anybody. I just wanted to go out there and just help lead the team. Just be a good vocal leader. It was a team win, shoutout to Kon, shoutout to everybody, man," the guard said.

Ryan Kalkbrenner added 15 points (on 5/6 shooting) and nine rebounds to cap off his Summer League. Dennis Rodman Jr. scored 11 points off the bench on 80% shooting as well. The Hornets were without Summer League breakout star PJ Hall because he signed a two-way deal with the Memphis Grizzlies.