NBA Analyst Misses the Mark on Kon Knueppel

Cooper Flagg had an incredible rookie season with the Dallas Mavericks and lived up to the hype of being the No. 1 overall pick. He looks to be one of the future faces of the NBA and certainly that of the Mavericks.

Just because the top pick didn't fall short of expectations doesn't mean he should be automatically gifted the NBA's Rookie of the Year Award. In most years, that's probably enough. Not this year, though.

What Kon Knueppel did with the Charlotte Hornets was remarkable. He helped change the culture, the narrative around the organization, and, oh yeah, helped them to an appearance in the Play-In Tournament.

NBA analyst Ric Bucher dropped an interesting take on the Rookie of the Year debate on Saturday, completely missing the point with Knueppel's impact in Charlotte.

The argument for Kon's popularity over Cooper Flagg seems to overlook that Flagg has been asked to carry the Dallas Mavericks, while Kon's role with the Hornets has been far less demanding. #NBA #Basketball #Awards pic.twitter.com/PIdrzgbURk
— Ric Bucher (@RicBucher) April 25, 2026

“I was confident that Kon’s popularity for the award would wane the same way Chet Holmgren’s did versus Victor Wembanyama about two years ago. Surely, the voters would see that what Cooper has been asked to do with the Dallas Mavericks is not only drive the car, but buy the gas and change the tires. While Kon with the Hornets has been at best, riding shotgun and probably more accurately sitting in the backseat, making sure that the player list is on point and that everyone’s hydrated. Knueppel winning over Cooper Flagg because the Hornets won more games and Knueppel led the league in three pointers made, the argument that I’ve seen most consistently made on his behalf, feels like something you’d say if you reached a conclusion and then went looking for the rationale.”

To continue with the vehicle theme here, a better way to explain Kon's impact is that he was the coat of paint that made a banged-up car with potential look showroom-ready. Riding shotgun on a good team? Lest we forget that this team won a grand total of 19 games a year ago. This wasn't a team that stumbled into some incredible lottery luck. Oh, wait, that would be the Dallas Mavericks, who had just a 1.8% chance to win the rights to the No. 1 overall pick after winning 39 games.

Having LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller healthy was certainly a big part of the equation for the Hornets this season, but the reason they were able to have the kind of years they had was that they had Knueppel on the floor with them. Playing a massive part in improving a team's win total by 25 should be worth something, right?

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