Kon Knueppel says he is no longer dealing with hamstring pain and is focused on rebuilding strength as the Hornets begin training camp.
Kon Knueppel is no longer feeling pain in his left hamstring. The Charlotte Hornets wing said at media day Monday that he is working his strength back, and Wednesday will mark three weeks since he got hurt.
The Hornets announced the injury Friday and ruled him out of all four preseason games. According to the team, it happened during offseason on-court activity. Forward Grant Williams hurt his right hamstring the same way, and both players will be re-evaluated during the first week of the regular season.
Earlier Monday, president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson said he did not know whether Knueppel would be ready for the Oct. 21 opener at Brooklyn.
Knueppel Says Hamstring Is No Longer Painful
Knueppel has missed one game since high school. He explained how the latest injury happened during a pickup session at Charlotte's practice facility.
"[We] were just playing pickup up here, right in our practice facility," Knueppel said. "We've been doing live play days throughout the summer and offseason. And just got a rebound, defensive rebound, and went coast-to-coast with it and just felt my hamstring pull up on me. Kind of felt like a cramp. Then I was like, 'I don't think that's a cramp.' So just a little tug of the hamstring."
Knueppel said his recovery is progressing well and that the focus now is rebuilding strength and working through the stages required before returning to five-on-five play.
"But I'm progressing really well," Knueppel continued. "It feels good. I'm not dealing with any pain. Now it's just working the strength back, working my way up and going through the steps of starting to run, starting to jog, getting back to playing five-on-five, playing against contact, and just ramping myself up from there."
Knueppel Rarely Misses Games
That lone missed game came last December. On Dec. 26 in Orlando, he landed on Moussa Diabaté's foot while going for a rebound late in the first half and needed help off the floor. He had already scored 16 points, including four 3-pointers in the first quarter.
Before that night, he had played in each of Charlotte's first 30 games and averaged 19.4 points.
He sat out the Dec. 29 game against the Milwaukee Bucks, then returned two nights later on New Year's Eve against the Golden State Warriors. He finished with 20 points, eight assists, and five rebounds in a 132-125 loss.
He didn’t miss another game. Knueppel appeared in 81 games and started 80 during his rookie season. The year before at Duke, he played in all 39 of the Blue Devils' games.
A league source told the Charlotte Observer on Friday that the hamstring injury did not appear serious enough to cost him a large portion of the season.
As a rookie, he averaged 18.5 points and made a league-leading 273 3-pointers. He finished second to Cooper Flagg in Rookie of the Year voting.
Grant Williams Also Out for Preseason
Williams, 27, played 36 games last season and averaged 7.0 points and 3.9 rebounds. Boston drafted the Charlotte native 22nd overall in 2019, and he came to the Hornets from the Dallas Mavericks in 2024.
Camp begins Tuesday at The Citadel in Charleston, S.C., and continues through Oct. 2.
The four preseason games Knueppel will miss are:
- Oct. 6 against Brooklyn at Spectrum Center.
- Oct. 11 against Milwaukee at Spectrum Center.
- Oct. 14 at Boston at TD Garden.
- Oct. 16 at Memphis at FedEx Forum.
The opener at Barclays Center tips off at 7:30 p.m. ET. Charlotte's home opener is Oct. 23 against the Atlanta Hawks.
