Hornets Beat Kings in NBA Summer League Championship Bracket, Kon Knueppel Wins MVP

Kon Knueppel and the Charlotte Hornets are your 2025 Vegas Summer League champions.

The Hornets defeated the Sacramento Kings 83-78 on Sunday night in the championship contest, with Knueppel earning MVP honors after posting 21 points and five rebounds in the title game.

Ryan Kalkbrenner added 15 points and nine rebounds for Charlotte, while Isaac Jones continued his torrid run for Sacramento, registering 24 points and 11 boards. Devin Carter contributed 13 points and seven assists for the Kings.

Jones was also fantastic in Sacramento's semifinal win over the Toronto Raptors, putting up 36 points in that contest.

He couldn't quite live up to that performance on Sunday, however, and the Kings struggled in general, shooting just 36.5 percent from the field (31-of-85) and 20.6 percent from three (7-of-34).

The Hornets, meanwhile, will be pleased that the No. 4 overall pick, Knueppel, and the No. 34 overall selection in Kalkbrenner led the way for them against the Kings. It wasn't a perfect performance from Knueppel, who wasn't terribly efficient from the field (8-of-21), but he still was Charlotte's best player on the evening.

The Hornets were in control for much of the game and led by 11 points heading into the fourth quarter before the Kings mounted a run, drawing within three points with just under five minutes remaining. There was a virtual lid on the rim from there before Knueppel and Jones traded huge threes within seconds of each other in the final minute.

The Kings couldn't quite get over the hump, however, and the Hornets claimed the Vegas Summer League title.