Hornets star Knueppel sustains injury before training camp. Here’s the prognosis
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Kon Knueppel, the first rookie in NBA history to lead the league in three-pointers made in a season, has sustained a left hamstring injury and will miss all four Charlotte Hornets’ preseason games in October and, quite possibly, more time than that.
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Knueppel’s injury will be re-evaluated during the first week of the regular season, which the Hornets begin Oct. 21 in Brooklyn before their home opener on Oct. 23.
The Hornets wouldn’t say exactly what such a re-evaluation means in terms of absence, but Knueppel may also miss multiple games at the beginning of the regular season.
Generally, an injury re-evaluation is followed by a gradual return to basketball activity and full-contact practices before players are inserted back into actual games. One bit of good news: A league source said Knueppel’s injury does not appear so serious as to impact a large swath of his season.
The Hornets also announced on Friday that forward Grant Williams has also sustained a hamstring injury — in his case, the right hamstring.
Much like Knueppel, Williams will miss the preseason and also be re-evaluated the first week of the regular season. Both players got hurt earlier this month during offseason, on-court activity. The Hornets are scheduled to have their media day Monday, where the injuries will be publicly addressed further by Charlotte officials, and then will head to training camp in Charleston.
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The twin hamstring injuries are a blow to the Hornets as they enter a transitional season after trading two of their four best players from last year in LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges.
The No. 4 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, Knueppel is expected to take on a larger role this season after a spectacular rookie year in which he logged averages of 18.5 points, 5.3 assists and 3.4 assists per game for Charlotte. Knueppel was first-team All-Rookie and runner-up for NBA Rookie of the Year behind his former Duke teammate, Cooper Flagg.
Also notable: Knueppel played in 81 of Charlotte’s 82 regular-season games as a rookie, with his durability much praised on a team where stars like Ball and Brandon Miller have both sustained injuries that have kept them out for weeks or months in recent seasons.
Without Knueppel, more of the preseason (and perhaps early regular-season) scoring load will fall on Miller and point guard Coby White, who will replace Ball in the starting lineup.
Williams, a Charlotte native, has primarily been a bench player for the Hornets but is part of head coach Charles Lee’s rotation when healthy at power forward and center. After a 13-month absence due to a serious knee injury, he made his 2025-26 debut against Utah on Jan. 10 and went on to become a key piece of a Hornets team that fell one game short of making the NBA playoffs.
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This story was originally published September 25, 2026 at 7:51 PM.
