Hornets have blossoming star in Kon Knueppel. How he’s putting Charlotte on map
Think performing in front of thousands of screaming fans at a place like Madison Square Garden or even in your own hometown in Wisconsin conjures up nerves, creating butterflies in the stomach?
In reality, it’s nothing compared to what Kon Knueppel experienced Tuesday night, some 24 hours before the Charlotte Hornets fell to the New York Knicks 119-104 on Wednesday.
Firing off a 3-pointer over the outstretched hands of New York’s Mikal Bridges, getting into the lane against Knicks swingman Josh Hart or tossing in a floater over Karl-Anthony Towns simply doesn’t hit as hard as being the center of attention in a network television studio in midtown Manhattan.
Landing a spot as a guest on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and spending time in the NBC spaces at 30 Rockefeller Plaza sits right up there in memories that are filling up Knueppel’s digital scrapbook.
“Cool, cool experience,” Knueppel told The Charlotte Observer. “I was pretty nervous about doing it. It’s not something I particularly enjoy doing, but I actually did. I thought it was really cool. Getting to meet Jimmy Fallon was awesome, and getting a chance to be on the show, it was something that I really, really enjoyed.
“Getting out there in front of a live audience and talking in that way, that’s not something I’ve ever done. I thought it was cool and a good experience.”
Of course, now that he’s a big late-night guest and all, Knueppel’s phone quickly got loaded with messages from friends and family, including a former educator who patted him on the back.
“My speech teacher in high school texted me,” Knueppel said, “and so she was like, all of your presentations, you’re prepared for this.”
It’s only the latest moment that Knueppel has crushed — in a good way.
He’s turned out to be just what the Hornets needed, which has to excite coach Charles Lee and the team’s brass in the same fashion it’s delighted the fan base, knowing the franchise appears to have a gem. Knueppel’s first month-plus on the job as a pro solidified him as a legit threat, buoyed by being named Eastern Conference rookie of the month for October/November.
Throw in a career-high 32 point performance in Milwaukee on Nov. 14 with literally thousands of well-wishers in the stands, and it’s been quite the crazy stretch for the 20-year-old forward.
“Yeah, it’s good,” Knueppel said. “We’re losing a lot of games, so I think there’s definitely some individual highs right now. But what we talked about was with Jeff (Peterson, the Hornets’ president of basketball operations) and C. Lee, it’s good to be recognized.
“We all want to win. We know that’s the most important thing. So, just getting better as a collective unit is the most important thing for us right now.”
Without a doubt, Knueppel is doing his part to try to propel the Hornets (6-16) to pile up more victories. He leads all rookies in scoring at 18.3 points per game, and is atop the rest of his draft classmates in 3-point percentage (41.3) and free-throw percentage (89.8). There’s more, but that’s just a snapshot of how Knueppel has boosted things for the Hornets.
He’s been available to suit up in each of Charlotte’s 22 games, giving the team some stability at the small forward position. He snatched the starting spot and hasn’t let it go one bit.
“Kon, individually, I think that his fearlessness, his mindset to approach every day is another opportunity to get better, to try to impact the game at a high level,” Lee said. “I don’t think that he gets too high, too low. If he has a good shooting game, a bad shooting game, his approach is the same the next day. ‘I’ve got to get better, and I’ve got to find a way to try to help this team and help my teammates.
“And his teammates do a phenomenal job of putting him in positions also to try to help him be successful.”
In return, Knueppel has morphed into a blossoming voice, making it clear he’s not cool with uninspired performances. There have been too many of those for the Hornets this season, including Monday’s loss to Brooklyn, and Knueppel is on a mission to ensure that doesn’t become the norm.
“As I mentioned after the game, I can live with losing if we’re competing at a high level,” Knueppel said, “If we’re playing to who we are and executing what the coaches want us to do, and doing the things that we’re supposed to do.
“I can’t handle losing when we come out and do things that aren’t competitive, that are soft, and also just not what we are and what we do in practice on a daily basis and watch film for. So, we’re just going to stick to our habits. That’s what we did at our shootaround (Wednesday) — get out there and compete.”
This story was originally published December 4, 2025 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Hornets have blossoming star in Kon Knueppel. How he’s putting Charlotte on map."
