An NBA rookie is having a historic season, and it's not Cooper Flagg. Brock Williams-Smith/NBAE via Getty Images. Grant Hughes, Dec 2, 2025. If someone had told you a couple of months ago that a Duke product in the 2025 NBA draft would exceed the hype, change the long-term outlook of his team, and establish himself as the runaway Rookie of the Year by December, you wouldn't have been surprised. But if that same someone had then told you the rookie in question wasn't Cooper Flagg, you would have shouted 'What in the name of Mike Krzyzewski?!' and taken weeks to recover from the shock. This hopefully illustrates the surreality of Kon Knueppel's start for the Charlotte Hornets. The second lottery pick out of Duke was regarded as a stellar role player who'd probably shoot the ball well but might struggle to adjust to the pace and athleticism of the NBA. Instead, Knueppel has soundly outplayed every other member of the 2025 rookie class, including his much more ballyhooed teammate. How's he doing it? Is any of this sustainable? What does it mean for the Hornets, Dallas Mavericks, prospect evaluation, and the reliability of the draft hype machine? Historic Start Knueppel is currently one of five rookies in NBA history to average at least 18.0 points per game with a true shooting percentage north of 60.0 percent. This is triggering some hyperbolic analysis. We don't need to make wild proclamations about Knueppel's place in league history, especially when we're only a quarter of the way into his debut season, and when many of those historical comps played before the popularization of the three-point shot. But we can agree his inclusion on this list warrants a reevaluation of his pre-draft scouting report. We can also agree it's early and Knueppel isn't the only rookie tearing it up. Cedric Coward, Ryan Kalkbrenner (another Hornet), and Will Richard all have at least as many Win Shares as Knueppel to date. The Expected Everyone knew Knueppel could shoot. In 39 games at Duke, he canned 40.6 percent of his threes and became the first Blue Devil since JJ Redick to knock down better than 90.0 percent of his free throws. At 41.3 percent from distance and 89.8 percent from the foul line through his first 20 NBA games, Knueppel has delivered on the most widely accepted portions of his scouting report. The other aspect of Knueppel's game that most agreed would translate: uncommonly good feel on and off the ball. With a stocky 6'5" frame and clever small-space maneuvering, he's shown the ability to utilize screens and get to high-value spots on the floor. Once there, his strength allows him to hold his position so he can survey passing angles. Quick processing makes him dangerous when he gets into the lane or pins a trailing defender on his back. Even against stronger and faster NBA competition, he's leveraging these creation skills. Knueppel's turnover rate is high, but he ranks in the 71st percentile in assist percentage among wings. When LaMelo Ball missed a Nov. 10 game against the Lakers, Knueppel led the Hornets with nine assists. The Unexpected The list of sweet-shooting, athletically limited guards who've failed in the NBA is long. For most of them, the slim margins they exploited in college through cleverness disappear when the competition gets bigger, faster, and smarter. Shooting windows close more quickly, increased physicality disrupts rhythm, defensive shortcomings lead to relentless targeting on the other end. Knueppel—laterally slow, lacking lift, and more of a probing dribbler than a downhill attacker—seemed vulnerable to all of these familiar concerns. The most surprising aspect of his rookie season is how little his perceived shortcomings have mattered. Take Knueppel's shooting, for example. He's not just a standstill weapon capitalizing on setups. Though most of his long-range attempts have been of the catch-and-shoot variety, he's drilling 55.6 percent of his pull-up treys. When defenders try to run him off the line, he's shown a knack for getting into the middle, trusting his strong base, and elevating just enough to hit self-created jumpers. He may never be a dynamic finisher, but Knueppel excels at getting into the paint, taking his time, and playing off two feet, which negates some of his athletic disadvantages. These skills serve him well whether he has the ball or not, and he's been a stunningly dangerous weapon when rolling to the bucket or popping into space after screening. Off the ball, his intelligence and feel for finding space have been even better than advertised. Put it all together, and Knueppel has basically figured out how to accentuate his strengths while minimizing his weaknesses. That's a pretty good way to decimate expectations and rise to the top of a rookie class. The Lessons The first Knueppel-related takeaway is that his success doesn't make Flagg a failure. It certainly defies expectations that he isn't running away with the Rookie of the Year award, and that Knueppel currently has the best odds, considering Flagg started the season as an overwhelming favorite. The Dallas Mavericks effectively set Flagg up to fail by playing him at point guard early in the year and surrounding him with personnel that made no sense. He's still probably the best bet among 2025 draftees to reach superstar status. His 35-point game on Nov. 29 was a good reminder that he has plenty of time to retake the ROY lead. Maybe the better way to frame it is to say Knueppel is joining Flagg in the high-ceiling club, not taking his spot. The second takeaway is that Knueppel's emergence could have major ripple effects in Charlotte. His shooting makes him a universal fit with any combination of teammates, but his potential development as a playmaker could mean a high-usage facilitator like LaMelo Ball isn't necessary. That's a relevant consideration in light of recent rumblings that Ball could be on the trade block at some point this season. Grant Hughes covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, where he appears with Bleacher Report's.
