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Knueppel helped the Hornets (44-38) finish with a winning record for just the second time in the past decade. Cooper Flagg’s Mavericks (26-56) finished in 12th place in the Western Conference. The Mavericks entered the season with high hopes but had to adjust their expectations after star big man Anthony Davis dealt with calf and hand injuries and was traded to the Washington Wizards in February. “Coming into this year, we all had different expectations in how we thought the year would go,” Flagg said. “But all of that is in the past. I think it’s time to move forward. Continue to grow, continue to get better and have a high outlook on how next year can go. We are just going to put in the work all summer long. I think we’re all excited for it.”
NBA Communications: The 2025-26 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year Award winner will be revealed tonight at 7 PM ET on Peacock and NBCSN. The three finalists: ▪️VJ Edgecombe, @sixers ▪️Cooper Flagg, @dallasmavs ▪️Kon Knueppel, @hornets
NBA Communications: The three finalists for the 2025-26 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year Award: VJ Edgecombe, @sixers Cooper Flagg, @dallasmavs Kon Knueppel, @hornets
Draymond Green picks Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as MVP over Victor Wembanyama: I said before I think Wemby has to do some things to go take it. I don’t think it can be neck and neck and you get the nod over the guy who’s already won MVP. Maybe next year Wemby can go take it but this year I got SGA”
Draymond Green tabs Kon Knueppel as Rookie of the Year over Cooper Flagg: I know everyone says ‘rookie of the year isn’t an award that goes off winning.’ When did winning stop mattering for anything? Basketball is about winning and losing. He has affected winning in a major way. I think that has to count for something.
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Justin Russo: The last time the Charlotte Hornets won a playoff game, Courtney Lee hit the game-winner and Marvin Williams led them in scoring. LaMelo Ball and Moussa Diabaté were 14 years old, Brandon Miller was 13, and Kon Knueppel was 10.
Although Cooper Flagg was the consensus can't-miss prospect, Ball was talking up Kon Knueppel to the Hornets GM. Ball had watched Duke play during the season and told Peterson how savvy he thought the forward was. He was struck by Knueppel's basketball IQ and understanding of the game -- impressive even for a five-star prospect. And of course, there was Knueppel's elite shooting. Ball's astute scouting report was before Charlotte even knew where it would be drafting. The Hornets learned in the draft lottery a month later that they would have the fourth pick, which they eventually used on Knueppel. "He's spot on with those traits," Peterson told ESPN of that break-of-dawn draft breakdown. "He was very detailed in his evaluation of why he liked him. That was even more impressive that he was able to kind of highlight him because there were some other guys that he didn't highlight. "He may have a future in the front office if he wants."
Ball and Knueppel have formed a Hornets 3-point shooting duo of the future that has a new-age Splash Brothers feel to it. Charlotte has been perhaps the best story of the NBA season and authored the most surprising turnaround with a potent starting five that includes the emerging Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabate. The Hornets won 44 games after totaling just 19 wins a season ago. Only the Spurs have had a bigger turnaround this season. "Nobody's thinking that playing Charlotte is going to be an easy walkover game," Knueppel told ESPN. "Which it has been the last couple years."
Head coach Charles Lee -- who also adds a Boston flavor to the Hornets' offensive style from his time as a Celtics assistant under Joe Mazzulla -- can often be seen signaling a playcall with a steering wheel gesture to his team. It's fitting since the Hornets want to play full throttle with constant movement; they lead the NBA in double on-ball screens per game and points per game off those actions this season, according to ESPN Research. "They gave the blueprint for a lot," Knueppel said of the Pacers. "We might not have like the superstar, All-Star, All-NBA guy, but we got a lot of good players. When we play fast and we have a bunch of guys that can really contribute, it's just a good style for us."
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“Nobody’s thinking that playing Charlotte is going to be an easy walkover game,” Knueppel told ESPN. “Which it has been the last couple years.”
When Knueppel joined the veterans for summer workouts and runs at Queens University in August, the Hornets began to see their potential. He and Ball hit it off immediately. They flashed “incredible synergy” and were able to repeatedly find each other open on the floor, according to Peterson. “We knew [for a long time],” Ball told ESPN of when he realized the Hornets were going to be this good. “Like I ain’t going to lie, in the summer, we saw Kon, we saw everybody hooping. We’re like, ‘Oh, we got a squad for sure. We just got to put it together.’”
Ball’s astute scouting report was before Charlotte even knew where it would be drafting. The Hornets learned in the draft lottery a month later that they would have the fourth pick, which they eventually used on Knueppel. “He’s spot on with those traits,” Peterson told ESPN of that break-of-dawn draft breakdown. “He was very detailed in his evaluation of why he liked him. That was even more impressive that he was able to kind of highlight him because there were some other guys that he didn’t highlight. “He may have a future in the front office if he wants.”
Crazy Stats: Kon Knueppel and LaMelo Ball became the second duo in @NBA history to finish first and second in made three-pointers in a season, joining Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Curry and Thompson did it four times (2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16, and 2016-17).
