LAS VEGAS — With 28 seconds left in the third quarter, the 4-0 Charlotte Hornets were up by 26 points. It was the Summer League semifinals, and they were about to find themselves 10 minutes away from a spot in the Championship. As menial as that may sound in the grand scheme of the NBA, winning always means something.
Usually, the top rookies only play a game or two in Vegas. And once a team is eliminated from playoff contention, even late-round picks sit out. Second- and third-year players sometimes only play in one game. With Charlotte on the precipice of a Finals birth, it made sense that Kon Knuppel, the No. 4 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, was still playing. But up by that margin, that late into the game, he could have easily been resting on the pine, waiting for the title game.
Perhaps that was going to be the plan at the end of the period. Coach Chris Jent never got the chance to make that decision.
At that 28-second mark, Knueppel lost his handle on the ball, sending it backwards into Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jazian Gortman. Rather than letting the ball go and moving into the next possession, a fair decision, considering the time, score, and circumstances, Knueppel threw himself to the hardwood in chase.
He didn’t get the ball. He got an elbow to the face.
Blood began rushing from just above Knueppel’s eye. A Charlotte trainer escorted him off the court and into the tunnels. His game was over. And for most, his Summer League would be, too.
But not Knueppel’s.
Kon Knueppel just proved why the Hornets need him
Instead, Knueppel was ready to roll for a chance at glory. Knueppel wanted to win Summer League. Knueppel wanted a ring. Knueppel wanted to win.
Knueppel did not want to wear the protective headband he used to protect the stitches he received.
"I'm all right,” Knueppel said on the broadcast during the Summer League Championship. “Obviously, taped up. Got five stitches yesterday. Hit the ground pretty hard. And I have to wear this stupid headband."
But he did wear the headband. And he did play in the Summer League Championship.
There, Knueppel and company met the Sacramento Kings. Headlined by No. 24 pick Nique Clifford, who enjoyed an incredible Summer League run, Sacramento was more than eager to scrap with the Hornets.
And while the end result of Knueppel’s bloodied adventure was him in the starting lineup, staring face to face with Clifford, that reality nearly didn’t exist.
“We had to fight a lot of people to get me on the court today,” Knueppel said. “It wasn't necessarily from within the organization.”
Whether it was his family, the doctors, or whoever else may have had a say in the matter outside of the Hornets organization, Knueppel rejected their pleas.
“It was a no-brainer for me,” he said. “I just wanted to get out there and help the guys and get this done tonight.”
In his mind, the “meaninglessness” of Summer League was irrelevant. A few years down the line, whether or not the Hornets won the championship would be a blip on the radar. Nobody counts Summer League rings as a measurement of player, team, or organizational success.
And maybe Knueppel won’t either, when he looks back at the scope of his career. But in that moment, the moment where he had to decide whether or not a set of stitches would hold him back, none of that mattered.
All he saw was a championship game and a chance to win it.
“They just wanted me to know the risk involved,” Knueppel said. “And I thought it was pretty marginal for just—I got a couple of stitches. It was a cut. So, that's not gonna hold me back from playing the championship game.”
Knueppel did more than play in the championship game. He won it. And he won game MVP. His 21 points, five rebounds, and two assists helped Charlotte squeak by the Kings, who surged toward a comeback in the fourth quarter.
It put the perfect bow on an impressive first impression. One that set the tone for what Hornets fans are hoping to be a blossoming young career. One that Coach Jent helped set in motion.
“I think Coach Jent really instilled the ideas of competitiveness, competing all the time, and then being together,” Knueppel said. “And so, that's what we did, and every game we played together. And it had a good outcome for us.”
When the Hornets hired Charles Lee last season, a culture reset was needed. Lee brought Boston Celtics coaches (Blaine Mueller and Jermaine Bucknor), championship experience, and a head full of ideas in hopes ot providing just that. And though what he endured was yet another rough season in Charlotte, one year cannot define the concept.
Fast forward to his second draft in Charlotte, and Knueppel was there at four. Fans saw a connector. A three-point specialist who could give LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller an elite secondary offensive option. There’s no doubt the Hornets saw that, too.
But behind the veil of his incredible on-court talent lives the exact mindset Charlotte needs. One that Lee hopes to provide. One breeds success in the NBA. One that’s needed to snap a soon-to-be decade-long playoff drought.
One that decides a bloodied forehead and a few stitches aren’t enough to keep you off the court in a championship game.
Even if it’s only Summer League.