Charlotte Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel got the chance to play in his hometown of Milwaukee for the first time in his young career, and he took the idea of a homecoming game quite literally.
The first-round draft pick invited the whole Hornets team over to his family’s home a night before facing the Bucks.
“Taking the [team] bus down my street, going home, that was weird,” Knueppel said before Friday night’s game. “And a bunch of NBA players in my house. It was a lot of big people, but my family enjoyed it. My brothers definitely enjoyed it.”
So excited to host the Hornets at our home in MKE! pic.twitter.com/btmkBHBpEz
— Chari Nordgaard Knueppel (@ChariNKnueppel) November 14, 2025
Knueppel is the oldest of five boys. Both of his parents played college basketball, so being around a team is nothing new for the family. However, Knueppel said at least one of his teammates had never had an experience like this.
“Mason [Plumlee], one of our vets, 35 [years old], year [13 in the NBA] for him. And he was like, ‘I’ve never done this before, never gone to a teammate’s house,'” Knueppel said. “So that was cool to hear him say that. It was a special hour and a half for us.”
Perhaps most importantly, the team impressed Mom.
“They were such great guys,” said Knueppel’s mother, Chari. “They’re young, and they’re so good to my younger sons. … It was just a really great life experience, just a core memory.”
The game itself was special too. With nearly 2,000 friends and family in attendance, Kon Knueppel scored a career-high 32 points, but the Hornets lost to the Bucks 147-134 in overtime of an NBA Cup game.