Kon Knueppel Had Sweet Reaction to Video of Cooper Flagg's Support on Draft Night

Flagg was so pumped up for his now ex-teammate.
Flagg went to the Mavericks with the No. 1 pick of the 2025 draft, while Knueppel went to the Hornets with the No. 4 pick.
Flagg went to the Mavericks with the No. 1 pick of the 2025 draft, while Knueppel went to the Hornets with the No. 4 pick. / Mike Lawrence/NBAE via Getty Images

The bromance between former Blue Devils teammates and first-round NBA draft picks Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel is a magical thing.

True ball-knowners will recall Flagg's super-excited reaction to hearing Knueppel's name called at No. 4 back in June. At the time, Flagg was speaking with journalist Taylor Rooks, but cut himself off mid-sentence to cheer for his friend and former teammate as he walked to greet commissioner Adam Silver on stage.

Later asked about that moment in an episode of Rooks's podcast released Friday, Knueppel had an equally adorable reaction to Flagg's support.

"It's really special," Knueppel told Rooks. "Cause it extends [beyond] him just being my teammate, or whatever. He actually cares for me and wants me to have success. And we feel that way about each other. But to see someone so excited for someone else's success, you don't see that all the time, and that was really cool. I got a little choked up when I saw [the video of Flagg reacting] for the first time."

Watch an edit of that below:

Great stuff. It's too early now, but maybe we can all collectively hope for an NBA reunion for these two at some point in the future. GMs, if you're listening ... could be fun ...


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Brigid Kennedy
BRIGID KENNEDY

Brigid Kennedy is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, she covered political news, sporting news and culture at TheWeek.com before moving to Livingetc, an interior design magazine. She is a graduate of Syracuse University, dual majoring in television, radio and film (from the Newhouse School of Public Communications) and marketing managment (from the Whitman School of Management). Offline, she enjoys going to the movies, reading and watching the Steelers.