Hornets' Kon Knueppel is clearly the NBA Rookie of the Year front-runner so far

Charlotte Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel has been the best rookie in the NBA this season. Does that sound like an exaggeration to you? It’s not. Yahoo Sports' NBA analyst Kevin O’Connor, among others, would agree with the take that Knueppel would be Rookie of the Year if the season ended today.

On a new episode of the The Kevin O’Connor Show, O'Connor gave his top five Rookie of the Year ladder, with Knueppel landing on top.

Kevin O'Connor says Kon Knueppel is NBA Rookie of the Year so far

Kon Knueppel was incredible in his 1st NBA game in his hometown of Milwaukee, Wisconsin!

🐝 32 PTS (career-high)
🐝 3 AST
🐝 3 STL
🐝 4 3PM pic.twitter.com/XJbRADpzDa
— NBA (@NBA) November 15, 2025

“I knew he would shoot the hell out of it from three-point range,” O’Connor said. "(But) I’ve just been beyond impressed by everything besides the shooting from Kon … he's finishing better off of both one foot and two feet at the rim. He's finishing against length, and versatility, and size, finishing through contact, using different angles at the rim.”

“They're using him as a screener sometimes, and he's hitting buckets out of a short roll and making the right pass,” O’Connor continued. “He's just being put into so many different actions. And to me, so far this season … Knueppel is the Rookie of the Year.”

Kon Knueppel is the way-too-early Rookie of the Year: https://t.co/BpzGDkpK3x pic.twitter.com/UOAcZspVLb
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnor) November 14, 2025

O’Connor then proceeded to name his top five Rookie of the Year candidates as of November 13 (when the podcast episode aired), with Philadelphia 76ers’ VJ Edgecombe coming in at No. 2 behind Knueppel, followed by Memphis Grizzlies Cedric Coward at No. 3, Dallas Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg at No. 4, and San Antonio Spurs’ Dylan Harper at No. 5.

O’Connor’s guest on the episode, Yahoo’s Tom Haberstroh, echoed the Knueppel praise and lauded Charlotte’s 2025 draft.

“I mean, did anyone win more on draft night than the Charlotte Hornets with (Knueppel) and Kalkbrenner?” Haberstroh said. “Like, that dude can play, too.”

“These rookies should not be able to be as good as they are this soon,” Haberstroh continued. “And yet they are, and that's great coaching, that's great drafting, and the Charlotte Hornets have gotten next to nothing out of LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller, and still, they haven't missed a step. I think the Charlotte Hornets' fans have to be thrilled with how they've handled the draft in the last couple of years.”

Kon Knueppel went off against Bucks with a career-high 32 points

MILWAUKEE NATIVE KON KNUEPPEL DROPPED A CAREER HIGH 32 POINTS 👀

The Hornets lost vs. the Bucks 147 to 134 in OT. pic.twitter.com/iuJlqbIdJv
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) November 15, 2025

As if to back up O'Connor's and Haberstroh's praise on Thursday, Knueppel went out and scored a career-high 32 points on Friday against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.

Entering Saturday's night battle against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Knueppel was averaging 17.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists this season on 40.2 percent from three. He's the real deal.

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