At one point before the season, it seemed unheard of for Kon Knueppel to win the Rookie of the Year. But now he's making a real case to take home the award.
Flash captures the eye, but the picture is what lasts longer.
The NBA landscape was hyperfixated on Cooper Flagg, a generational talent out of Duke, who was selected first overall in the 2025 Draft to the Dallas Mavericks.
But what fans didn’t fully grasp was that his Duke teammate Kon Knueppel was just as impactful as Flagg.
As we’ve seen in his rookie season, Knueppel isn’t flashy, but he gets the job done.
He’s already set NBA records as the fastest to reach both 100 and 200 3-pointers in a season, and he was the youngest player to ever reach 250 3-pointers – a record previously set by Stephen Curry and Anthony Edwards.
However, what’s even more of a marvel is how quickly Knueppel turned the Charlotte Hornets around.
The Hornets were a bottom-of-the-barrel team for as long as they’ve been back in the Queen City, but the moment Knueppel stepped onto the scene, Charlotte was Buzz City once again.
It took a little bit of time, as Charlotte started the 2025-26 season on a dreaded 14-26 run. But after January 15th, everything fell into place.
Knueppel has been the driving force of this franchise, with Charlotte going 25-10 since that mark and helping the Hornets sit firmly in the playoff race.
With just seven games left and three games behind the sixth-seed Atlanta Hawks, it seems like a spot for the Play-In will be in the Hornets’ immediate future. However, given this magical run, the potential to make noise past the Play-In is a real possibility.
Which brings us back to Flagg, once a frontrunner for Rookie of the Year, who has now taken a backseat to his former partner in crime.
Per Covers, Flagg had opened up as a -225 favorite to win the award after the Draft, with Knueppel ranking sixth at +2000.
Now, Knueppel stands as the overwhelming favorite, as BetMGM has him ranked as a -200 favorite over Flagg who stands at +145.
The switch isn’t a knock on Flagg’s ability. Flagg is actually averaging more points, assists, rebounds and steals than Knueppel.
But because the Mavericks will end up missing the playoffs, ranking 13th in the Western Conference, it’s quickly become Knueppel’s award to lose.
You also have to factor in Knueppel’s role in Charlotte’s success.
Without his ability to not just shoot the 3, but to use his high basketball IQ to figure out ways to impact the game on different levels, this may have still been Flagg’s award – even with the losing season.
Knueppel being the Rookie of the Year favorite isn’t about stats, it’s the way he affects the game on a night-to-night basis.
A true relic in today’s game. But the difference is, relics hold significant longevity.
This won’t be the last of Kon Knueppel.