Hornets' Knueppel exits 6 minutes into season debut with leg soreness

• ESPN

Nov 4, 2026, 08:41 PM ET

Charlotte Hornets guard Kon Knueppel lasted less than six minutes into his season debut Wednesday before appearing to aggravate a left hamstring injury that had sidelined him to start the year.

The second-year guard was ruled out at halftime against the Brooklyn Nets because of what the team called "soreness in his left leg."

Knueppel injured his left hamstring initially during offseason on-court activity and missed all of preseason as well as the first eight games of the regular season.

He appeared to have an issue with that leg while dribbling up the court with 6:12 left in the first quarter of Wednesday night's game against the Brooklyn Nets. After losing the ball out of bounds, Knueppel grimaced and looked to be favoring his left leg.

Knueppel established himself as a building block for Charlotte with a rookie campaign in which he led the league in 3-pointers and finished second to Cooper Flagg in NBA rookie of the year voting. His return came one game after Coby White, who had been sidelined by an offseason calf injury, made his season debut.