The start to this NBA season just went from bad to worse for the Charlotte Hornets.
Kon Knueppel is expected to miss an extended amount of action after reaggravating the same left hamstring injury that forced him to miss the beginning of the 2026-27 NBA season. The latest setback was particularly cruel, just six minutes into his season debut for the Hornets.
Charlotte had been eagerly awaiting Knueppel's return to the lineup after he led the NBA in 3-pointers and finished runner-up to former Duke teammate Cooper Flagg in Rookie of the Year voting. But the latest update from team officials confirmed Knueppel won't be back on the court soon to help a Hornets team in a rough patch earlier than expected this season.
Here's the latest on Knueppel's
injury situation and how it affects the Hornets:
Kon Knueppel injury update
The Hornets announced Sunday that Knueppel has been diagnosed with a left hamstring strain and will be reevaluated in four weeks. The injury is a recurrence of the issue that sidelined him for the first eight games of the season.
The team had initially termed Knueppel's injury as "left leg soreness" when he left the Hornets' Nov. 4 game against the Brooklyn Nets.
Although there didn’t appear to be a specific play in which Knueppel got hurt, he exited shortly after he dribbled the ball off his foot. During the play, Knueppel tried to dribble the ball behind his back, but it caromed off his right leg, forcing him to take a small step as he tried to recover it. Immediately after the play, Knueppel limped but tried to stay in the game before quickly heading to the bench. He eventually went into the locker room and did not return.
Knueppel scored 3 points, all from free throws, missed his only shot attempt, a 3-pointer, and committed 2 turnovers in 5:51 on the floor against the Nets.
Why Kon Knueppel's injury hurts the Hornets
Knueppel's return seemed to be coming at the perfect time for the Hornets, who had been reeling from a barrage of injuries early on this season. Instead, Knueppel is out for the foreseeable future and the Hornets have lost much of the momentum they generated last season.
Charlotte (3-7) enters Monday's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on a six-game losing streak. It has already been without key players like Brandon Miller (strained right hip), Grant Williams (right hamstring strain), Dennis Schroder (left hamstring strain), center Moussa Diabate (right quad tendinopathy) and guard Coby White (left calf) due to injury through 10 games this season.
The lack of continuity is in stark contrast to last season, when the Hornets' top eight scorers all played at least 65 games and they were one of the NBA's biggest surprises. Charlotte finished with the franchise's best record in a decade (44-38) and qualified for the Eastern Conference play-in tournament as the No. 9 seed. Knueppel played 81 games as a rookie.
The injuries have also exposed the risks that came with the Hornets' offseason decision to trade LaMelo Ball. Knueppel's emergence as a rookie helped justify the move, but Charlotte's roster looks far different when he's unavailable. It certainly doesn't work without Miller, White and Diabate, too.
The good news is the bottom of the Eastern Conference appears soft. The Hornets, as much as they've struggled so far, still sit in 10th place in the standings. They might be able to stay in the postseason race without Knueppel for a month, particularly if Miller and Williams are back.
But if his absence lasts beyond Christmas, the Hornets could be staring at a lost season after finally seeming to find themselves over the past year.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kon Knueppel's latest injury setback could be crushing blow for Hornets
