To be the best, you have to beat the best. That’s an old virtue that remains true today. That’s what the Charlotte Hornets are feeling right now according to their sensational rookie Kon Knueppel.
When they did they start feeling that way? It was when they dominated the defending champions Oklahoma City Thunder by 27 points in the first week of January.
“We’re getting hot, and I think we’re gonna stay hot,” he said after their win over the Dallas Mavericks.
“We just got a spirit about us right now. It starts when you’re on the road and beat OKC, the best team in the league, gives you confidence… we’re a good basketball team. We’re starting to really believe that about ourselves and coming out and hunting every night.”
The team actually went 1-3 in their next four games after that. They then got wins over Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers.
Hornets are now now on a five-game winning streak after beating Dallas Mavericks on the road. Charles Lee’s squad are now 21-25 in the standings and are 11th in the Eastern Conference.
Kon Knueppel is a star
The Thursday game between the Mavs and Hornets is one of the most important for Knueppel as it saw him testing it out with his college best friend and no. 1 pick Cooper Flagg.
The two are neck and neck in the Rookie of the Year with the Hornets’ 4th overall pick leapfrogging him two weeks ago.
Flagg scored 49 points in the loss but Knuepple came out on top not only because his team got the victory but it was him who hit the winning shot plus a free throw to seal the win.
COOPER FLAGG VS. KON KNUEPPEL WAS A ROOKIE SHOWDOWN 🔥👏
FLAGG: 49 PTS, 20-29 FG, 10 REB
KNUEPPEL: 34 PTS, 10-16 FG, 8 3PMFormer Duke teammates shining in the league 🙌 pic.twitter.com/uR21BDbi9e
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 30, 2026
Final 2 minutes of Hornets vs Mavericks:
Wild ending in a crazy game, Cooper Flagg got caught in the air and fouled Kon Knueppel. Kon made both shots to win the game. Coop fumbled with the inbounds pass and got a heavily contested mid range jump shot that actually somehow almost… https://t.co/anykFBVzYj pic.twitter.com/Ui7rwyvQyt
— SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) January 30, 2026
It was a showdown for the ages between the two Duke standouts and expect more in the seasons to come.
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