Heading into the 2025-26 NBA regular season, most eyes were on Dallas Mavericks' top pick Cooper Flagg to be the far-and-away favorite to take home this year's Rookie of the Year award, and among the few dark horses lingering in the background, had Utah Jazz fifth-overall pick Ace Bailey as a eye-catching candidate to watch.
Charlotte Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel continued his blistering season on Sunday, hitting 7-of-11 threes and dropping 28 points in a loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
Bear in mind that it’s just November and things can change, but both Kon Knueppel and Cooper Flagg are currently leading candidates for NBA Rookie of the Year.
As you probably know, for much of America, Kon Knueppel has been an utter revelation with the Charlotte Hornets. Duke fans had a pretty good idea, of course.
Who is the best player in the history of every NBA franchise? That’s a tough question. Who is the most iconic player in the history of every NBA franchise?
The Bulls sit in a murky middle ground. Billy Donovan has coached well, but as Tim Bontemps of ESPN noted, Chicago still lacks a true franchise star. Second-year forward Matas Buzelis has shown flashes and the Bulls can create significant cap space this summer, but both Coby White and Nikola Vucevic are headed for free agency.
While there are rumors surrounding the Charlotte Hornets and trading LaMelo Ball, the future of the team seems to now surround Kon Knueppel, who’s been off to a fast start to the season.
The Charlotte Hornets have been dealing with plenty of negativity this season, from a 4-11 start to LaMelo Ball trade noise. They haven't made the playoffs since 2016, and it looks like that streak will continue in 2026.
It would be difficult to overstate how impressive Charlotte Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel has been through the first 15 games of his NBA career. To put it
Kon Knueppel, Paul Pierce, and Larry Bird. At first glance, one of these things is not like the other. The Charlotte Hornets wing doesn't seem to fit in with two NBA Hall of Famers in any way, shape, or form.
The race for Rookie of the Year has already taken shape a month into the 2025 NBA season, and two familiar names sit near the top. Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel spent last year together at Duke, helping lead the Blue Devils to a Final Four run before falling to Houston.
The highly anticipated 2025-26 NBA season is still in its nascent stages, yet a compelling narrative is already taking shape as former college teammates and top draft picks, Kon Knueppel and Cooper Flagg, navigate their rookie campaigns.
Kon Knueppel has officially entered the Rookie of the Year conversation. As Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer noted, the former Duke standout is leading all rookies in scoring at 17.2 points a game and has already hit 41 threes.
The 2025-26 NBA regular season is just days away from the one-month mark, meaning it’s time for NBA Draft on SI’s first in-house rookie ladder of the season.
The 2025 No. 1 pick, Cooper Flagg, got all the hype. But four weeks into the season, Kon Knueppel is putting up better stats and hitting bigger shots than his Duke teammate.
Kon Knueppel had a strong performance in his return to his home state in the Charlotte Hornets’ road matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night.
So far, the 2025 NBA Draft class is looking to be the best we've seen in years. So far, eight first-year players are averaging double-figure points, with many of the top picks living up to expectations thus far.
Though the Charlotte Hornets are 4-7, their rookie forward Kon Knueppel is putting up some solid numbers. Knueppel is averaging 16.6 PPG and 6.4 RPG and shooting 39.8% from 3-point range.
Charlotte rookie shines early as the franchise’s next big thing When the Charlotte Hornets selected Kon Knueppel with the No. 4 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, they weren’t just drafting talent—they were investing in reliability.
Two games. Kon Knueppel needed only two games to prove he’s more than a promising rookie. With Brandon Miller and LaMelo Ball out, the Charlotte Hornets turned to their fourth-overall pick — and he delivered.
Kon Knueppel has had a very impressive start for a rookie drafted by the Hornets. But it has been overshadowed by Cooper Flagg’s struggles and VJ Edgecombe’s start.
The No. 4 pick is starting — and thriving — as Charlotte’s sharpest new weapon Four games into the NBA season, Kon Knueppel isn’t easing into anything.