After four straight losses, the Charlotte Hornets are receiving some much needed help: Kon Knueppel will return to the lineup on Wednesday night after missing the first eight games of the season.
Knueppel suffered a left hamstring strain just before Charlotte's 2026 training camp, and was initially announced to be out through preseason and re-evaluated in the first week of the regular season. On Thursday, the Hornets announced that Knueppel was assigned to the Greensboro Swarm for practice, and was recalled a day later.
He was reported as questionable on Tuesday's injury report, and the team upgraded him to availableto play against the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday.
Knueppel's return is a much needed addition for Charlotte on offense. Through the first eight games, the team is last in points per game (97.4), field-goal percentage (40.5%), and second-to-last in 3-point percentage (29.6%), assists (21.3), and turnovers (19.8)
Charlotte's offense desperately needs a boost, and on Monday they received starting guard Coby White back after missing the team's first seven games with a calf injury. With Knueppel returning, the team is inching towards full strength, and it was announced on Wednesday that Grant Williams was being assigned to the Swarm for practice. Similar to Knueppel, Williams has missed the first eight games of the regular season and all of preseason after suffering a hamstring injury prior to training camp.
In Knueppel, Charlotte is getting back the 2025 fourth overall pick, and the runner-up for the NBA's Rookie of the Year Award. Knueppel also led the league in 3-pointers made during the 2025-26 season, and set a Charlotte Hornets record for threes made in a single season.
In his rookie year, Knueppel played 81 games, averaging 18.5 points while shooting 42.5% from three on 7.9 attempts a night. Only three players last season shot 40% from three or better on 7+ attempts a night: Kevin Durant, Tim Hardaway Jr, and Kon Knueppel.
Kon's rookie season was one to remember in Charlotte, where the team came up just one game short of making the playoffs for the first time in a decade. Knueppel played a pivotal role in helping the Hornets nearly reach the playoffs, where he won the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month all but one month.
He came up just one vote short of winning the Rookie of the Year award, falling to Duke teammate and number one overall pick Cooper Flagg in the end. Knueppel's second season is one with lots of excitement to see how his game grows, and Wednesday will be the first time fans will be able to watch him play since the team fell in the Play-In Tournament in April.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/hornets/onsi as Charlotte Hornets Announce Kon Knueppel Will Return to the Lineup on Wednesday Night .
