Kon Knueppel
#7SF · Charlotte Hornets
EfficientSharpshooter
Height
6'6"
Weight
215 lbs
Age
20
College
Duke
Draft
2025, Rd 1, #4
Experience
0 yrs
B+
A-
A
B-
N/A
Fan VerdictWhat's your verdict?
Grade Kon Knueppel
Your grade joins the crowd-sourced Fan Verdict.
The Verdict on Kon, in One Read
On the field, Kon Knueppel grades out as an excellent SF for Charlotte Hornets (A Impact). That places him 16th of 119 graded small forwards. In his on-court role, the grade is strong (B- Role), reflecting how he produces relative to others at his position. The contract is harder to defend: the Contract Value Index calls it good value (B+), with the cost outrunning the output. The public read is very positive (A- Sentiment), drawn from current news and social signal rather than the box score. As a prospect, expect these grades to move quickly as a real sample builds.
Career StatsB+
| Year | Team | GP | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3PT% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career |  | 81 | 18.5 | 5.3 | 3.4 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 47.5% | 42.5% | 86.3% |
| 2025-26 | | 81 | 18.5 | 5.3 | 3.4 |
Performance Grade by Season
CareerB-| Season | Team | GP | PTS | REB | AST | FG% | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | | 81 | 18.5 | 5.3 | 3.4 | 47.5% | B- B- |
Grades reflect the player's performance in each season. Header grade shows the current season.
Recent Games
| Date | OPP | Result | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG | 3PT | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, 4/17 | @ ORL | L 90-121 | 29 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3-10 | 1-6 | -26 |
| Tue, 4/14 | vs MIA | W 127-126 | 34 | 6 |
Current Contract
Length
4 years
Total Value
$45.5M
Guaranteed
$20.5M
AAV
$10.0M/yr
Guaranteed %45%
Contract Value Index (CVI)
B+
Good Value
OverpayFair ValueGreat Value
Kon Knueppel earns a B+ Contract Value Index (CVI), a verdict that accurately reflects the asymmetry between his rookie-scale economics and his unexpectedly strong first-year performance. At 20 years old on his initial four-year deal worth $10M AAV, Knueppel is operating precisely where a fourth overall pick should be financially—locked into sub-market compensation that allows Charlotte maximum flexibility if his sophomore season sustains the momentum. His 18.5 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 3.4 APG across 81 games in 2025-26 carry real weight for a small forward in his opening year, translating to a B+ performance grade that suggests he's delivering legitimate two-way rotation impact rather than pure lottery-ticket upside. For a 20-year-old on a rookie deal, this represents exceptional value: he's not yet eligible for extension-year inflation, and Charlotte has locked in four years of below-market compensation on a player generating A- sentiment and consensus top-two rookie conversation. The CVI holds steady because the deal itself is structured to be advantageous to the team—rookie scales are designed that way—and Knueppel's early success only reinforces that Charlotte got premium talent at a predictable, manageable cost. The modest cooling of his sentiment grade over the last month, attributable to the natural post-award-cycle recalibration rather than any performance erosion, doesn't change the underlying contract math: this is exactly the kind of value proposition teams hope to extract from a high-lottery pick.
Performance Analysis
B+
#16 of 119 Small Forwards
Contracts in the Same Value Band
Other same-position deals the Contract Value Index also places in the B band — a quick read on where Kon's contract sits relative to comparable money.
How Kon Compares at the Position
Kon Knueppel ranks 16th of 119 graded small forwards by performance. That slots Kon between Brandon Miller (A-) just ahead and Saddiq Bey (B+) just behind.
Graded higher
Brandon MillerCharlotte HornetsA-Ausar ThompsonDetroit PistonsA-RJ BarrettToronto RaptorsB+Kon KnueppelB+
Graded lower
Saddiq BeyNew Orleans PelicansTransaction History
No transactions found for this player.
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About this player
Kon Knueppel is a player on a rookie-scale contract listed at SF for the Charlotte Hornets. FanVerdicts covers every NBA player, team, GM, and transaction — and puts your verdict on all of it. Sign in to cast your Fan Verdict on Kon Knueppel, see where the crowd lands, and argue the call. FanVerdicts also brings its own read — performance, sentiment, and Contract Value Index — as one honest input alongside the crowd's. Where FanVerdicts has weighed in so far: Contract Value Index B+, Performance B+, Sentiment A-.
The crowd's Fan Verdict moves in real time as fans vote on this profile. FanVerdicts' own read updates as new data lands — performance recalculates when NBA game stats post, sentiment shifts with media coverage and fan discussion, and the Contract Value Index recomputes when contract terms change. Contract details below show the structure (years, total value, average annual value, guarantees) behind the Contract Value Index read.
For league-wide context, the NBA hub has team rankings, GM report cards, the transactions feed, and live scoreboards. The NBA player rankings page sorts every active player by performance and contract value within their position.