Kon Knueppel Talks Duke, March Madness, NBA ROY Race vs. Cooper Flagg and More in B/R Interview

Before breaking rookie records and lighting it up in the NBA, Charlotte Hornets first-year star sharpshooter Kon Knueppel helped lead Duke to the Final Four in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, so he knows what this year's Blue Devils team is feeling ahead of Friday's Sweet 16 matchup against St. John's.

Knueppel offered some advice to this year's Duke team that is trying to win the program's first national championship since 2015 under legendary head coach Mike Krzyzewski.

"Commit to playing together, that would be the main thing," Knueppel told Bleacher Report of what he would say to the Blue Devils. "Sometimes, in these big-time moments, it can be tough to commit to your identity, but I know [head coach Jon] Scheyer keeps the guys focused on the right things. I think their commitment on the defensive end will really be the way they can get it done."

Duke is facing a tough path to the Final Four, as a win over St. John's would lead to another tough game against the winner of the other Sweet 16 matchup in the East Region between UConn and Michigan State.

"It's a tough regional, tough games here coming up. I really hope Caleb Foster can come back this weekend, I think that would be immensely important," Knueppel said, as Scheyer announced Thursday that the junior point guard will try to play through his foot injury. "I really like this team, they play really hard. I like the guys, I've gone to a couple games, been around the team a little bit, so it would be awesome if they could get it done."

While starring alongside 2025 No. 1 pick and Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg, Knueppel helped lead the Blue Devils to just their second Final Four appearance since their 2015 national title win. He had back-to-back 20-point games in the Sweet 16 and the Elite Eight, and he even looks back on Duke's heartbreaking loss to Houston in the Final Four as a fond memory.

"Definitely the Elite Eight game against Alabama, that was awesome," Knueppel said when asked about his favorite March Madness memories. "That weekend in general, we played Arizona in the Sweet 16, and that was a really good game. Obviously, they're a really good team this year, and they have a lot of the same guys, so that was a really tough team to play. Even playing Baylor in the Round of 32, Tyrese [Proctor] went nuclear and hit a bunch of step-back threes, so that was fun to be in a game where that happened. And then the Final Four experience was great, minus the last minute of the game, that was a cool weekend."

Now, Knueppel is going head-to-head with Flagg for NBA Rookie of the Year honors this season. After breaking the single-season rookie record for three-pointers and helping put the Hornets in a position to earn their first playoff spot in a decade, the 2025 No. 4 pick could have already overtaken his former teammate as the favorite for the award.

"I think it's the best-case scenario. You have a guy that's a really talented player, and even to just be in a conversation with him means I'm doing something right," Knueppel said of going up against Flagg in the ROY race. "So it's really cool to be in that conversation. Obviously, it would be a great honor to win the award. It's cool doing it with a close friend."

Flagg's Mavs have sputtered to a 23-50 record despite his best efforts amid an injury-riddled year. Meanwhile, Knueppel and the Hornets are ninth place in the Eastern Conference with a 39-34 record after recovering from a disastrous start to the season.

"It's been great. I think the biggest thing has been this midseason turnaround that we've had, it's been really fun. When you start 4-14, it's tough, and you're not really thinking about the prospects of the season being good. I've never been on a losing team before, so I'm glad that we've turned it around, and hopefully we'll keep that streak going," Knueppel said. "But I think the biggest thing is just the love that we've felt from the fans that have really shown up. This area of the country is all basketball fans, from Tobacco Road and having the college basketball, it's a sleeping giant for an NBA team. I think it's great to have the fans' support, we've really felt it, and it's really come alive here throughout the season."

Knueppel's love for the fans is part of the reason why he partnered with Cheez-It to announce the release of the Kon's Double Double Cheez-It Bundle on Thursday, featuring his two favorite flavors, White Cheddar and Extra Toasty.

"A favorite snack of mine, so when this opportunity came through, it was just a no-brainer," Knueppel said. "It's a two-box bundle, and it's just something that I wanted to do, but also for my fans and anyone else who enjoys Cheez-It. ... I got a couple boxes here, I'll have to bring another one on the road."

Cheez-It

Another highlight of Knueppel's rookie season was his appearance in the NBA Three-Point Contest during All-Star Weekend. After impressively putting up 27 in the first round, he finished third behind Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker and Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard, the latter of whom won the event despite sitting out the entire 2025-26 season while recovering from a torn Achilles.

"It was great, getting the opportunity to do that was really fun and it was a real honor to be invited," Knueppel said. "The first round started great, and it was sweet to kick it off like that. It was tough to lay an egg there in the second round. It was a long time to sit, kind of cooled off a little bit. But that stunk to lay an egg like that."

Knueppel is hoping to score another invite to next year's Three-Point Contest in Phoenix, as Booker has already begun recruiting a star-studded list of competitors. He also revealed who he would want to compete against in his dream Three-Point Contest from any era.

"I'd go [Stephen] Curry, Klay [Thompson], Ray Allen, Larry Bird and Kyle Korver," he said. "I think that would be a fun three-point contest."

For now, Knueppel is focused on helping the Hornets secure a postseason spot as the regular season winds down.

"I think it's just committing to our identity and our basketball, trying to play how we play every night with our pace, our advanced passing and the way we rebound the basketball," he said. "I think those areas of the game really separate ourselves. And committing our attention to detail on the defensive end, which we've been really good at in this run, so just shoring that up and continuing that in the last 10 games."