Unbelievable Rise: How No. 4 Pick Kon Knueppel Shocked Everyone to Clinch Hornets’ First NBA Summer League Title!

Charlotte looked on pace for an easy win, building a double-digit lead in the first quarter, but an 11-2 Kings run to close the second quarter made it a game again. The Hornets were up big again to open the fourth quarter, but a cold stretch for much of the frame opened the door for the Kings to make the ending uncomfortable.

Kon Knueppel has certainly made some waves early on in his journey with the Charlotte Hornets — and boy, has it been an eventful start! As the No. 4 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, he didn’t just show up; he showed out, steering the Hornets to their inaugural Summer League crown in a nail-biter against the Sacramento Kings. Wrangling 21 points and delivering that clutch three-pointer in the dying moments? That’s the kind of drama that spices up a young career. It wasn’t a walk in the park, though — the Kings pushed hard, nearly pulling off an 18-point comeback, but Knueppel’s timely shot put the brakes on their charge. What impressed me most was not just his scoring, but the grit — even sporting a bandage from an earlier head injury — steady as a rock when it mattered most. This debut performance sets the stage for what could be a pivotal season in Charlotte, especially as other rookies rise and the team reshapes its roster dynamics. Training camp’s looking mighty interesting, and honestly, if Knueppel keeps this up, he might just cement himself as a cornerstone for the Hornets’ rebuild.
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Knueppel will now enter Hornets training camp fully expected to lock down a starting job, and Kalkbrenner will be in consideration for a major role in the paint after the Hornets’ trade of starting center Mark Williams. Success will be harder to find in the regular season, but when you’re a young team like the Hornets, you definitely want to see your young players doing stuff like this.The No. 4 pick of the 2025 NBA Draft led the Hornets to their first Summer League title, holding off a Sacramento Kings comeback in a 83-78 championship game win on Sunday. Knueppel led his team with 21 points and made the biggest shot of the night with a 3-pointer in the final minute.Isaac Jones, who powered the Stockton Kings to a G League championship last year, led Sacramento with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Fellow rookie Ryan Kalkbrenner (15 points), Jaylen Sims (11), KJ Simpson (11) and DJ Rodman (11) all joined Knueppel on the Hornets in double-digit scoring.