Charlotte Hornets star Kon Knueppel has established this goal regarding his injury
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- Kon Knueppel aims to play Oct. 21 in Brooklyn in the 2026-27 regular-season opener.
- The Hornets ruled Knueppel out for all preseason games with a left hamstring injury.
- Injured Sept. 9, Knueppel said he feels no pain and has started steps toward full return.
The Charlotte Hornets don’t want to put a timetable on Kon Knueppel’s hamstring injury.
Knueppel himself, though, has no problem doing so. His goal is to play on Oct. 21, when the Hornets open their 2026-27 regular season at Brooklyn.
“I feel like we know that I want to play in every game, and we saw that last year,” Knueppel said Monday at Hornets Media Day. “ You know, I had a pretty bad rolled ankle (last season) and only missed one (game out of 82). Didn’t miss any games in college or high school. And so I’m going to do my best to get myself prepared for that.”
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The Hornets have already declared that Knueppel will not play in any preseason games due to the left hamstring injury. They said last week that his hamstring will be re-evaluated in the first week of the regular season, which also includes Charlotte’s home opener against Atlanta on Oct. 23. General manager Jeff Peterson Monday said he didn’t want to comment on a potential timetable for Knueppel’s return.
Knueppel, 21, was a breakout star for the Hornets a season ago. He led the NBA in total three-pointers (273) and was second in the NBA Rookie of the Year voting to former Duke teammate Cooper Flagg. One of the Milwaukee native’s trademarks is his durability. This, in fact, is the first extensive rehabilitation of an injury Knueppel has ever been through.
Kon Knueppel’s hamstring injury
The injury occurred on Sept. 9, Knueppel said, during a pickup game with his teammates at the Hornets practice facility that is adjacent to Spectrum Center.
“I just got a rebound, a defensive rebound, and went coast to coast with it,” Knueppel said. “And I 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,”
With the injury occurring almost three weeks ago, Knueppel said he believes he has made a lot of progress. “It feels good,” he said. “Like, I’m not dealing with any pain now… It’s just going through the steps of starting to run, getting back to playing 5-on-5, playing against contact and ramping myself up from there.”
Knueppel will be counted on to play a larger role this season since the Hornets traded away two of their top four scorers last season in LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges. He said he has been working on his ballhandling and driving the ball to the basket this offseason, along with his defense.
“I’ve been working a lot on finishing,” Knueppel said. “A lot of secondary playmaking. Ballhandling… Getting more comfortable with the (left) hand was huge this summer. And so I’m feeling much more confident as a finisher, which will go a long way for me this season.”
Sion James says his teammate is coping well
Sion James, who has teamed with Knueppel at both Duke and now with Charlotte, said he believes his friend is coping with the first somewhat serious injury of his career well.
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“The biggest thing I’ll say is what I know about Kon, in that Kon’s the same guy every day, whether he’s hurt or not,” James said. “He’s always got a great attitude. He’s always the same guy around us. And most importantly, he’s about the work. So whether it’s working on his shooting or whatever other skill he’s working on for the summer, he’s going to handle it all the same way.”
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Knueppel also sported a new look at Media Day, having grown a small red goatee. “Just grew it out all offseason,” Knueppel said. “Basically, it takes a lot to get the ginger stuff going.”
Miller says shoulder is fine
Another big question at Media Day concerned Brandon Miller’s shoulder. He had labrum surgery in May but has been at full-go for three weeks in workouts, he said, and is expected to have no restrictions at training camp. “I’m back now,” Miller said, “and doing a lot better.”
Miller led the Hornets last season in scoring at 20.2 points per game. He said he had put on between 5-8 pounds of muscle this offseason and will be playing at around 210 pounds this year. Miller also said he won’t be playing with a shoulder wrap this season because the surgery eliminated the need for it..
This story was originally published September 28, 2026 at 1:46 PM with the headline "Charlotte Hornets star Kon Knueppel has established this goal regarding his injury."
