"Our best player this year" - Miles Bridges says Kon Knueppel has outplayed every Hornets veteran in his rookie season

There hasn't been a lot to rave about this season for the Charlotte Hornets. Still, if there is a definite bright spot, it has been their rookies, especially Kon Knueppel.

Knueppel was the fourth overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, but many would argue that he deserves to be the top pick, instead of Duke teammate Cooper Flagg, given the way he has been playing. Nonetheless, he has made an immediate impact on the Hornets to the extent that he's receiving a ton of praise from fans, the media, and especially his teammates.

"Yeah, he's been great. He's been our best player this year," Hornets forward Miles Bridges said of Knueppel during a post-shootaround interview. "He's been consistent, and he brings it every game, he brings it every day. That's just the type of person he is; it's been great playing with him."

That's some pretty high praise for a rookie who's on a team with talented players like Bridges, Brandon Miller, Lamelo Ball, and Collin Sexton.

For the season, Knueppel is averaging 19.4 points on 43.8% shooting from three-point range and 5.8 rebounds per game. He also set a new NBA record, as it took him only 15 games to hit 50 three-pointers.

Knueppel is making a solid case for ROY

Apart from averaging almost 20 points a game, Knueppel has seemingly been the most consistent of all the rookies this season, outshining the likes of Flagg and VJ Edgecombe, who were picked higher than him.

Flagg is second among rookies in scoring at 15.9 points per game, followed by Edgcombe, who's at 15.6 points per game. If Knueppel can continue to perform at this rate, he'll have a strong case for Rookie of the Year honors and right now looks like a future cornerstone of the Hornets.

For reference, there have only been two fourth overall picks in the history of the NBA to win Rookie of the Year: San Antonio's Stephon Castle, who won the award last year, and Chris Paul, who won the award in 2006.

Related: "When MJ called, it was over" - Tony Parker revealed how Michael Jordan made him join the Hornets

Knueppel isn't the only Hornets rookie making an impact

Being the fourth overall pick, there was a certain level of expectation that was placed on Knueppel's shoulders, and he's delivering in spades. Ryan Kalkbrenner, on the other hand, is looking more and more like the steal of the draft. Selected in the second round, 34th overall, it's safe to assume that Kalkbrenner wasn't expected to contribute as well as he's doing this season.

The 7'1" center out of Creighton is averaging 9.4 points and 6.9 rebounds in 25.4 minutes per game. Even more impressive is that he's leading the league in Field Goal Percentage at 80.3 percent and True Shooting Percentage at 81.4 percent.

If he continues to develop and progress, fans could be talking about him in the same sentence as some of the most notable second-round gems like Nikola Jokic, Draymond Green, and Manu Ginobili in the near future.

It's still relatively early in the season and there's still a lot that could happen, but for now, it looks like the Hornets have found a pair of future cornerstones in Knueppel and Kalkbrenner.

Related: "He is perfect for international basketball" - Bill Simmons is positive that Kon Knueppel will make the 2028 U.S. Olympic team

This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Nov 26, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.