Kon Knueppel and the Charlotte Hornets
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What makes Kon Knueppel's rookie season notable?
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily presented by Amazon Prime for February 18th, 2026. I'm Dave DeFore. Here with Zena Kata and Maren Fader. Coming up, we talk to Maren Fader about her big con-conimple piece, the Charlotte Hornets, and basketball joy. Good morning, everybody. What's up, Zena? Welcome to the show. Maren, how are you guys doing?
We're good.
Thank you for having me. Awesome. The Charlotte Hornets are fast becoming our favorite team around here. Like, they're so much fun. And with the slow week, we thought it would be a good time to check in on some of the bigger stories that we've had over at The Athletic. So we brought in our feature writer, Mirren Fader, who wrote a great story about Con Canipple and his whole process and family and upbringing.
How did Mirin Fader come to profile Kon Knueppel?
Mirren, welcome to the show. How did you have the idea to follow around Conn Knipple? And how did you know it was going to be so interesting?
My editor actually, Glenn, he was like, you know, there's something interesting about this guy and his family. Like I'm seeing this family everywhere and there's a lot of K names. And so for me as a feature writer, I'm like, OK, what's interesting? What's beyond the like somebody scoring 20 points a game? And I was like, huh, like he's actually really good. But who is he? You know, what's what's happening with him? And I think a lot of smaller market teams that don't get a lot of attention, they have the best stories. So I was like, I need to see what this guy's backstory is.
And I love your piece, especially the way you open it up. Coach Charles Lee, head coach of the Charlotte Hornets, calling Khan an effing killer. And that feels jarring, given how composed and kind of understated and poised Khan comes across publicly.
What unique qualities does Kon Knueppel bring to the Charlotte Hornets?
He looks like an accountant. Like, we can say this, Zena, okay?
He just... That's not...
What we think about when we think about basketball killer, right?
One thousand percent. You're absolutely right. And Mirren, you've written a lot of deep profiles on a lot of NBA players. So I'm curious for maybe other effing killers that you've probably covered. How does Khan compare as a person as you kind of peel back the layers and found out more about him?
Oh my gosh, my like killer rankings. Yes. He, it's so funny because we were just meeting at this junior college and he walks in and like, if you didn't know basketball, you would literally not think this person is an NBA player. He looks so like boy next door and he was so normal and nice and Hi, how are you doing? You know, versus us, we're used to just like going around, you know, trying to get two minutes with this person. Will they let us talk to them in the hallway? He's just like so down to earth and normal. And then he gets on the court and it's this like straight up menace. And I think out of all the killers that I've profiled, including his teammate, LaMelo Ball, Khan is... is definitely top five.
Like, written and honest. Like, Khan is top five because he's so silent with it. It's so out of nowhere. Like, he has this deadpan face, and then he's just like, the competitiveness just comes out. And he gets black eyes. He gets bruises. He'll get knocked down. He comes back the next day, and he's just like, yeah, I'm going to bust a three in your face. Like, it's just, I can't even explain it. It is such a silent killer.
How does Kon's upbringing influence his basketball journey?
It's giving? Yeah, it's giving early Stephen Curry. I mean, it's the accountant.
It's like the movie, you know, the Ben Affleck.
With Kobe calling Stephen the baby face killer, and it was because you didn't expect it. Now, you know, Steph, I feel like has the, he understands the business of it. He understands the entertainment of it. So he kind of has the moments. But before, when he started, it was very much like Khan, where it's deadpan, those laser eyes. I'm just focused in. Yeah.
Yeah. It's like, it's like that clip was like Kobe and it was Matt Barnes, right? Who like throws it all out. Yes. I am not blinking.
Yeah.
One does not blink. And like, he's just so focused. And it's funny because like when coach Lee was telling me that he was so serious, he was like, look, I'm not even exaggerating.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What makes Kon Knueppel's rookie season notable?
0:06–0:59
2
How did Mirin Fader come to profile Kon Knueppel?
0:59–1:55
3
What unique qualities does Kon Knueppel bring to the Charlotte Hornets?
1:55–3:35
4
How does Kon's upbringing influence his basketball journey?
3:35–5:09
5
What role does coaching play in the Hornets' success?
5:09–7:07
6
How has Charles Lee impacted the Charlotte Hornets' culture?
7:07–9:09
7
What is the significance of joy in the Hornets' gameplay?
9:09–11:36
8
How does Kon Knueppel's family background shape his identity?
11:36–26:48