The Charlotte Hornets enter the 2025-26 campaign looking to rebound in a relatively wide-open Eastern Conference, and they'll have a former Duke standout to help them do it.
Charlotte finished last season with a 19-63 record, landing the fourth overall pick in the 2025 Draft. With that pick, the Hornets selected Kon Knueppel, who averaged 14.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game while shooting 40.6 percent from beyond the arc across 39 games in his lone collegiate campaign at Duke.
The 20-year-old joins a core featuring LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller, who combined to play just 74 regular-season games last year due to injuries. Now, they'll look to make it to the playoffs for the first time since the 2015-16 season.
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Cooper Flagg says Kon Knueppel is 'in a great spot'
While preseason results come with a grain of salt, Knueppel has held his own thus far. Over three preseason games, the Duke product is averaging 12.7 points and 3.7 rebounds in 23.3 minutes per game. In the Hornets’ 120-116 preseason win over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday, he led Charlotte's second unit in scoring — and also earned praise from his former Duke roommate and No. 1 overall pick, Cooper Flagg, per Joey Mistretta of ClutchPoints.
“That's somebody that's going to be a friend of mine for life, and so I'm just happy for him,” Flagg said. “I think he's in a great situation — in a great spot — and I'm just so happy for him moving forward with the opportunity that he has.”
Cooper Flagg on Hornets’ Kon Knueppel — his former roommate and Duke teammate: “No. 4 pick is a big deal” pic.twitter.com/5QJyOgyJV8
— Joey Mistretta (@JoeyMistretta_) October 12, 2025
Knueppel is likely to see meaningful playing time in his rookie season, though he'll still have to compete for minutes with Josh Green, Tidjane Salaun and fellow rookie Liam McNeeley. Meanwhile, Flagg is expected to play a significant role for the Mavericks this season.
Although they're no longer teammates, both Knueppel and Flagg will undoubtedly be rooting for each other as their first taste of regular-season action approaches.
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