"When are they trading LaMelo Ball" - Fans Take Notice as Kon Knueppel Sends Another Message With Career Night

Kon Knueppel has made a bright start to his life in the NBA as the guard recorded a career-high night for the Hornets on Friday. The guard poured in 33 points against the Bulls, sending a message and further cementing his growing reputation among fans.

His outstanding performance was highlighted by NBA Central on X (formerly Twitter).

"Kon Knueppel tonight: 33 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists, 57% FG," NBA Central captioned the post.

The tweet sparked strong reactions from fans, with many making a case for Knueppel's importance to the Hornets.

BigB

@BlackMaverickk

@TheDunkCentral @realapp So when are they trading Lamelo lol

bin.

@sprucespree

@TheDunkCentral @realapp The TRUE franchise player of Charlotte 🤷‍♂️

Fans also claimed he was a contender for Rookie of the Year ahead of his former college teammate Cooper Flagg.

𝒃🏀

@HiddenNBA

@TheDunkCentral @realapp He clears “Cooper Flagg” easily

Sweep

@0xSweep

@TheDunkCentral @realapp Roty, flagg might lose this one

Arhaan Raje

@arhaan_raje

@TheDunkCentral @realapp Knueppel remained No. 1 in the ROY power rankings for the 5th straight week. 👀

Knueppel posted a career-high 33 points, along with nine assists and five rebounds, in the Hornets’ 129–126 loss to the Bulls at the Spectrum Center. The outing surpassed his previous best of 32 points against the Bucks as he continued his impressive rookie campaign.

The Charlotte Hornets have continued to struggle this season and sit 12th in the East with a 7-17 record. However, Knueppel has been a huge positive for the team as the rookie has stepped up in LaMelo Ball's continued absence.

Knueppel has been the only consistent performer for the Hornets alongside Miles Bridges, with the duo playing in all 24 games so far. Although Bridges leads the team, averaging 21.0 ppg and 6.3 rpg, Knueppel has been Charlotte's next best performer, recording 18.0 ppg, 8.5 apg and 6.0 rpg.

His strong start earned him Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month honors for October and November, making him an early favorite for Rookie of the Year.

Kon Knueppel reflects on improvement areas after career-high performance ends in loss

Kon Knueppel’s career-high outing ended in defeat as the Bulls snapped their seven-game losing streak with a narrow 129–126 win. After the game, the rookie reflected on his performance and pointed to areas where he believes he can improve.

"I know for me for sure I wasn’t as good as I wanted to be on the basketball," Knueppel said (Timestamp: 0:14 onwards). "Guarding one-on-one. I think a lot of our guys could say the same. Sometimes it just comes down to individual pride. I’m not going to let my guy score on me, and we didn’t have a good enough edge tonight."

Despite the loss, there were many positives for Knueppel and the Hornets to take from the game as they will look to bounce back against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday.