Kon Knueppel and Grant Williams will miss the Hornets’ entire preseason with hamstring injuries and be re-evaluated during the first week of the season.
The Charlotte Hornets announced Friday that Kon Knueppel suffered a left hamstring injury and Grant Williams suffered a right hamstring injury during offseason on-court activity.
Both will miss the preseason and be re-evaluated during the first week of the regular season. Charlotte opens that week Oct. 21 at Brooklyn and hosts the Atlanta Hawks two days later.
The four exhibition games start Oct. 6, when the Nets visit Spectrum Center for a 7 p.m. ET tip-off. The Milwaukee Bucks come to Charlotte five days later. Charlotte finishes the preseason on the road against the Boston Celtics on Oct. 14 and the Memphis Grizzlies on Oct. 16.
Kon Knueppel Will Miss Preseason
As a rookie last season, Knueppel appeared in 81 of 82 games and started 80. The one game he missed followed a right ankle injury on Dec. 26.
He averaged 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists in 31.5 minutes per game. He shot 47.5% from the field, 42.5% from 3-point range, and 86.3% at the free-throw line.
His 273 3-pointers led the NBA and set a rookie record. Keegan Murray had held it with 206 in 2022-23.
Charlotte took Knueppel out of Duke with the fourth overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. He finished second in Rookie of the Year voting behind Cooper Flagg of the Dallas Mavericks, his former Duke teammate.
Flagg received 56 first-place votes and Knueppel received 44. The two finished 26 points apart in balloting by 100 reporters and broadcasters. Knueppel was named to the All-Rookie First Team.
Grant Williams Also Suffers Hamstring Injury
On Feb. 8, 2024, Dallas traded Williams, Seth Curry, and a 2027 first-round pick to Charlotte for P.J. Washington and two second-round picks. The Celtics drafted him 22nd overall in 2019 out of Tennessee. He played high school basketball at Providence Day School in Charlotte.
Williams tore the ACL, meniscus, and other ligaments in his right knee in November 2024, missing the rest of the season. He debuted Jan. 10, 2026.
Across 36 appearances last season, he averaged 7.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 19.8 minutes per game, while shooting 42.6% from the field and 38.8% from 3-point range.
This season is the last on the four-year, $53,341,500 contract Williams signed in July 2023 as part of a sign-and-trade from Boston to Dallas. He is set to earn $14,265,750.
Hornets Enter Season Looking to End Playoff Drought
In 2025-26, Charlotte finished 44-38, ninth in the Eastern Conference, and lost in the play-in tournament. The Hornets have missed the playoffs in each of the past 10 seasons.
