Charles Lee Gives Kon Knueppel Injury Update After Early Exit Against Nets

Kon Knueppel’s season debut lasted 5:51 on Wednesday night. The Charlotte Hornets forward left the first quarter at Barclays Center with what the team called soreness in his left leg, and he did not return to a 114-104 loss to the Brooklyn Nets.

Randle fouled Knueppel on a 3-point attempt at 7:17 of the first quarter, and he made all three free throws to cut Brooklyn’s lead to 9-7. Charlotte got the ball back on a Nets shot-clock violation, and his pass on that trip went out of bounds. Then, with 6:09 left, he lost the ball out of bounds while dribbling, his second turnover in 24 seconds, and Sion James came in for him.

After that turnover, Knueppel grimaced and appeared to favor his left leg, ESPN reported.

He finished with 3 points on 0-of-1 shooting from the field and 3-of-3 at the line, along with 2 turnovers.

Charlotte was heading home after the game, and the next evaluation happens there, two days before the Hornets host the Boston Celtics.

“No, I don’t have an update yet,” Hornets coach Charles Lee said. “We’ll evaluate it more, obviously, when we get home from the road trip tonight.”

Charlotte announced the injury on Sept. 25, along with a right hamstring strain for Grant Williams, and said Knueppel got hurt during offseason work on the court. Training camp, all four preseason games, and eight regular-season games went by without him. The Hornets won three of the first four.

The team cleared him for individual work on the court Oct. 20. His next step, on Oct. 29, was a practice with the Greensboro Swarm, Charlotte’s G League affiliate, and he rejoined the Hornets the following day.

On Monday, a night that ended in a 124-91 loss to Detroit, Lee said Knueppel’s return was “right around the corner.” He was listed probable for Brooklyn on Tuesday, and the Hornets cleared him to play Wednesday afternoon.

Competing with his teammates and smiling while he did it is what Knueppel was looking forward to, he told Hornets.com before the game.

“We talk about competitive joy,” Knueppel said. “I was going through a rough stretch at Duke, and [former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski] Coach K was just like, ‘Are you having fun? You don’t look like you’re having fun. You don’t smile.’”

“So, I just look forward to doing that out there with my teammates,” Knueppel continued. “Competing with them, smiling, enjoying it, having fun and bringing the group together to win some games.”

Charlotte took Knueppel fourth overall out of Duke in the 2025 draft. As a rookie, he started 80 of the 81 games he played.

He averaged 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists in 31.5 minutes per game. His shooting splits were 47.5% from the field, 42.5% from 3-point range, and 86.3% at the free-throw line.

No one in the league made more 3-pointers than his 273, and the old rookie mark, Keegan Murray’s 206 from 2022-23, fell along the way. Cooper Flagg beat him out for Rookie of the Year.

The only game he missed came on Dec. 29, three nights after he sprained his right ankle in Orlando. Charlotte finished 44-38 and went out in the play-in tournament as the ninth seed.

Knueppel started at forward Wednesday, with James coming off the bench. After replacing him, James played 30:46 and scored 10 points with 3 steals.

Williams has yet to play this season and was inactive again.

Coby White played 18:06 in his second game back from a left calf strain. Lee said Monday that a minutes restriction on White would stay in place for the next few games.

Boston visits Spectrum Center on Friday at 7 p.m. ET. The Hornets then host the Cleveland Cavaliers at 7 p.m. ET on Monday.