Kon Knueppel, the second idol of all of Milwaukee
He almost became the hero of the evening but Knuppel could will have to settle for a career-high 32 points and a 3-pointer to clinch overtime, after a missed dunk by Miles Bridges. In the trade, the Bucks held off the Hornets to win 147-134 after an additional five minutes. But Charlotte rookie he will never forget this night…
“Obviously I was excited, I was really looking forward to playing,” the Milwaukee native admitted. “But I tried as much as possible to treat this match as a normal match. So I didn’t focus too much on all that. It was a close match. Sometimes you just want to do something for the team. Tonight it came down to hitting shots.”
Hornets come to eat at his parents’ house!
If Kon Knuepel was “excited,” it’s because he played his first NBA game in his hometown. The Hornets bus actually stopped at the family home to eat with his parents!
“It was special,” admits Kon Knuepel. “Mason (Plumlee), one of our veterans, 35 years old, in his 13th or 14th season in the NBA, told me: ‘I’ve never done this before. I never went to my teammates. So it was pretty cool to hear him say that. It was a really special hour and a half for us. »
At Fiserv Forum, Kon Knuepel had a fan section of 2,000 at this game, with many wearing his Hornets jersey in the stands.
Wisconsin’s top draft pick
“There were many”confirmed by Kon Knuepel. “My high school (Wisconsin Lutheran) was having an event, so I went to say hello. And then it was WELLS (Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Wisconsin) night, my church’s synod, so there were a lot of people there for that, too.”
For the record, the No. 4 pick in the draft is the highest ever given to a Wisconsin native and he is the top rookie to start the season.
“Congratulations to our front office for being able to identify who he is as a person and as a player”underscores Charles Lee, former Bucks assistant and now Hornets coach. “Above all, he elevated our culture with his personality, his work ethic, his unselfishness. When he’s on the court, you see an ultra-competitive guy on every possession. I love his defensive instincts and his fighting spirit. He understands trends well. Most people knew he could shoot, that he was going to be a shooter in particular. For us, he was able to show a lot more than that, and he is.”
2025-11-15 07:45:00
