Former Duke basketball freshman star and No. 4 overall 2025 NBA Draft pick Kon Knueppel exited the Charlotte Hornets' 120-105 win over the Orlando Magic on Friday night after rolling his ankle on a layup attempt by Desmond Bane. Knueppel left the contest just before halftime and was ruled out for the remainder of the game.
The 20-year-old finished his outing with 16 points and three rebounds on 5-of-7 (71.4%) shooting from the field and 4-of-4 shooting from three-point range in 15 minutes.
However, following the nasty ankle roll, positive news has come out regarding the injury, and it looks to be much less serious than it potentially could've been.
Hornets' head coach Charles Lee provides positive injury update on star rookie Kon Knueppel
Here is where Knueppel rolled his right ankle pretty good.
— Brett Siegel (@BrettSiegelNBA) December 27, 2025
Certainly seems like this will force him to miss some weeks, but we’ll wait and see what further tests show. pic.twitter.com/dA4CcyoEFf https://t.co/04LQyG9Eu5
Charlotte head coach Charles Lee said X-rays came back negative, and the team will receive more information on the injury soon.
"(It) sounds like X-rays were negative," Lee said. "We'll get more information as we get back to Charlotte, but I love what he gave our group, and we needed all 16 of those points before he exited the game."
Knueppel has been arguably the best rookie in this entire class, as the 6'6" wing is currently averaging 19.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.5 assists a night on 47.8% shooting from the floor and 42.8% shooting from the perimeter on 8.5 attempts a game. Knueppel is currently leading rookies in three-pointers made at 113 and is second in points per game. The next rookie up in three-pointers made is the Brooklyn Nets' Egor Dёmin at 54.
According to FanDuel, Knueppel is second in the NBA Rookie of the Year race with +430 odds, trailing only fellow Duke teammate Cooper Flagg, who is currently the runaway favorite at -450.
The Hornets' top draft choice had played in every game this year before the injury. Charlotte has now won its last two games and sits at 11-20 on the regular season, good for 12th place in the Eastern Conference. The Hornets currently sit three and a half games back of the Atlanta Hawks for the 10th seed in the Play-In Tournament.