The Charlotte Hornets have a rising star in Kon Knueppel.
Sharpshooter Kon Knueppel has been named the Charlotte Hornets' most untouchable trade asset.
NBA analyst Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report considers Knueppel untouchable in Hornets trade talks.
"Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller should probably be considered co-untouchable assets for the Charlotte Hornets right now, as the young wings carry the most value to the franchise," Swartz wrote. "LaMelo Ball's trade value is tough to gauge, as injuries and inconsistent play shouldn't have him in the same tier as his teammates. One could make the argument that the Hornets should sell high on Ball now after he played in 72 games this season, more than the previous two years combined. Knueppel had the greatest three-point shooting season by a rookie, ever. He nailed 42.5 percent of his 7.9 attempts per game while averaging 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists while playing in 81 games."
Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg won the 2025-26 Rookie of the Year Award over Knueppel. Flagg pulled in 56 of 100 first-place votes to Knueppel's 44, finishing with 412 total points to the Hornets guard's 386. The 26-point gap was the second-smallest margin in a Rookie of the Year race since the current voting format began in 2002-03, trailing only the 15-point spread between Scottie Barnes and Evan Mobley in 2021-22.
Even though Knueppel didn't win the Rooke of the Year Award, he still had a special season for the Hornets. The Duke product averaged 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game and shot 47.5% from the field, 42.5% from 3 and 86.3% from the free-throw line. He led the NBA in 3s.
Knueppel claimed the first four Rookie of the Month awards this season, becoming the first Hornet ever to win the award four times. Here is what else the rookie accomplished this season, via the Hornets:
- At age 20, became the only player in NBA history age 22 or younger to record 250 3PM in a season against New York (March 26).
- Passed Michael Jordan for the NBA rookie record for most games with 20+ points on 65% true shooting (27) against Miami (March 6) in his then-rookie-leading 14th 25-point game.
- Set an NBA rookie record for 3-pointers made in a season (207) with a career-high-tying and franchise-rookie-record-tying 8 3PM at Indiana (Feb. 26); Knueppel tied his own franchise rookie record.
- Set a new NBA record for most games with 5+ 3PM by a rookie with 14 at Atlanta (Feb. 7).
- Broke the rookie record for most games with 20+ points on 50/40/90 shooting splits (12) against Golden State (Dec. 31), previously set by Stephen Curry.
- Knueppel is one of three rookies in NBA history (min. 25 games played) to average 15 points and 5 rebounds per game and shoot 40% from 3-point range; the other two are Larry Bird and Paul Pierce.
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