The Hornets may have lost to the Bucks on Friday night, but what took place on Thursday evening helped the team get closer. 

Charlotte rookie Kon Knueppel, who is from Milwaukee, invited his Hornets teammates to his childhood house for dinner. Knueppel's brothers and parents got to meet LaMelo Ball and Co. and it was an amazing night. 

"Taking the [team] bus down my street, going home, that was weird," Knueppel said before Friday night's game. "And a bunch of NBA players in my house. It was a lot of big people, but my family enjoyed it. My brothers definitely enjoyed it."

Knueppel's mom went viral on X after posting a picture of Hornets players in her house. Knueppel is the oldest of five boys and both of his parents played college basketball.

"They were such great guys," said Knueppel's mother, Chari. "They're young, and they're so good to my younger sons. ... It was just a really great life experience, just a core memory."

The Hornets lost to the Bucks in OT by a final score of 147-134. With family and friends at the game, Knueppel played like a superstar, putting up 32 points while shooting 12-of-20 from the field, 4-of-9 from beyond the arc and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line. 

Knueppel is now averaging 17.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game on the season. The Duke product is shooting 46.5% overall, 40.2% from 3 and 87.5% from the foul line. 

The Hornets are 4-8. They are in 12th place in the Eastern Conference standings and will likely miss the playoffs again this season. However, the future of the franchise looks bright with Knueppel, Ball and Brandon Miller leading the way. 

"Mason [Plumlee], one of our vets, 35 [years old], year [13 in the NBA] for him. And he was like, 'I've never done this before, never gone to a teammate's house,'" Knueppel said. "So that was cool to hear him say that. It was a special hour and a half for us."  

Charlotte drafted Knueppel with the fourth overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. The youngster looks like a future All-Star, which is great news for the Hornets.