Kon Knueppel narrowly takes second place in NBA Rookie of the Year vote

Kon Knueppel II, the Wisconsin Lutheran High School alumnus who helped transform the Charlotte Hornets into a playoff contender, narrowly took second place in the NBA Rookie of the Year voting, finishing behind his college roommate, Cooper Flagg.

Knueppel finished with 44 first-place votes among the 100 voters and 55 second-place votes, with only one voter giving a second-place vote to VJ Edgecombe of Philadelphia (Knueppel received the third-place vote). His 386 points were just shy of the 412 racked up by Flagg, Knueppel's teammate at Duke and the No. 1 overall pick by the Dallas Mavericks last year.

It's the second-closest vote under the current voting format that began in 2002-03.

The 20-year-old Knueppel finished the year with 18.5 points per game, 5.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists and a 42.5% mark from beyond the arc, with a league-leading 273 triples setting a new NBA rookie record. Knueppel's Hornets finished 44-38, missing the playoffs in the play-in game after a loss to Orlando.

Charlotte finished 19-63 last year before the franchise made Knueppel the No. 4 pick in the 2025 NBA draft and also hired former Bucks assistant Charles Lee as head coach.

Flagg's Mavericks finished 26-56, but a man who was long seen as the expected No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft delivered with a strong rookie season. He scored 21 points per game with 6.7 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 46.8% shooting from the field (despite just 29.5% from three). Flagg won't turn 20 until December.

Knueppel, who led Wisconsin Lutheran to a state championship and undefeated season just two years ago, paid a visit to Pat Murphy and the Milwaukee Brewers