Kon Knueppel Has Convinced Another NBA Analyst He's the Rookie of the Year

All year long, the Rookie of the Year award has felt like Cooper Flagg's to lose. Historically, the player coming in as the favorite tends to win and kind of has a leg up, but Charlotte Hornets star Kon Knueppel has changed people's minds.

It has been mostly neck-and-neck all season, but the odds finally flipped a few weeks ago. Slowly, some of those who still held Flagg as the Rookie of the Year began to see the light. Now, we can add The Athletic's Sam Vecenie to the list.

Vecenie recently flipped his rankings to include Flagg at the top, so it's not as if The Athletic writer has been a longtime Flagg supporter in this race. Flagg was excellent for a nine-game stretch, but then an eight-game absence and a rough five games in return were enough to give the nod back to Knueppel.

"The 6-foot-6 sniper continues to play tremendous basketball while helping to lead the Hornets on a charge toward the playoffs," Vecenie wrote. "The wild thing about Knueppel is that he just keeps getting better."

Prior to three blowout wins this week where he didn't play as much, in the previous 13 games, Knueppel averaged 21.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.6 assists to 0.9 turnovers. He did this while shooting 51.4% from the field, 45.6% from three with nine attempts per game. Astonishing numbers, really.

Charlotte Hornets guard Kon Knueppel (7) stands with Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Vecenie said that Knueppel is "solidly" in first, although not so solid as to crown him just yet. But the analyst noted that Flagg faces an uphill battle since Knueppel just refuses to slow down at any point this year.

"There is a very real case that Knueppel is already the most versatile off-ball shooter in the league," Vecenie added. "Knueppel has a significant number of answers to every test, which is what makes him such a lethal offensive player. And it makes him my pick for Rookie of the Year with about three weeks left in the season."

He detailed all the incredible ways Hornets fans have seen Knueppel get open and make shots or make good basketball plays. He can do almost anything in any scenario to find or create an open shot.

That's not the only part of basketball (and it's not Knueppel's only strength), but he does it at such a high level that it's enough to give him the Rookie of the Year over the all-around excellent Flagg.

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