Giannis talking to Kon Knueppel with some high praise
Kon gonna be here a long time….
Shoots like Klay. Decent on the ball. Amazing bbiq and great shot selection.
Love this for hornets
No wonder getoffmydickerson likes the Hornets core more than the Rockets ;)
I can’t think of a single thing getoffmydickerson was actually wrong about
Thinking that giving KD the ball is the solution.
KD wants to play as the point forward but can’t screen roll pass or handle the ball well enough.
I don’t know what KD wants, he complains when he has to carry the offense, he complains when other guys get the spotlight and he complains when guys don’t get him the ball.
Giving KD the ball worked great for the first 15ish years of his career, it was really only those freak knee injuries on the nets from people falling on him that sapped the rest of his athleticism and ruined his ball handling
Brooklyn also probably has a ring if his foot was an eighth of an inch shorter
Don’t remind me twin
Lmao no? KD has never been a great primary creator. One of the best scorers ever but he has always done best alongside a table setter.
KD too stupid to realize that.
Watch him in 2014 and 2021. Nets KD was a good facilitator and 2014 was one of the best primary creators ever
2014 game was way more primitive. Once help defense was aggressive creator KD struggled.
Bucks had a garbage coach. Why didn’t KD thrive against Celtics? He got swept because he just couldn’t create as well
He got swept by a total of 18 points across 4 games with Kyrie playing like shit and 50m in salary on the bench with Ben Simmons and Joe Harris versus the best defense in the league in 2022, hardly damning.
2014 creator KD was good enough to lead the league in points while also having nearly 6 assists a game and leading his team to the 2 seed in the west with no spacing and having his co-star point guard out for half of the season
Nets KD got clamped very hard by Boston when they swept them, he was a turnover machine and could not handle doubles lets not rewrite history.
KD offense = give me ball, try to iso… oh shit dump ball on someone else with 3sec left on clock.
I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt but the guy is just toxic. When you prefer Dillon Brooks stupid antics, you know it was bad with KD
Does anyone know when he said that about the hornets? If it was right after he scored like 35 and we still easily beat the rockets in Houston that’s pretty funny
Unironically he shoots like Steph and is big like klay
Nah Klay is better comparison he doesn’t have a one motion shot like Curry does.
His shot is much closer to klay than Steph
The form, yes
But the accuracy and volume and historical greatness (for his age) is closer to Steph
Bruh klay also shot high accuracy and volume for his entire prime what are we on about lol
As a 20 year old rookie, Kon is basically already a better shooter than prime Klay Thompson:
Edit: Changed Kon from 9 attempts to 8, typo
gah damn what is that stat line
Kon is attempting 8 per game, not 9, and yes his stats are extremely similar to klay’s that is why people are comparing the two of them lol
Thanks, edited.
When adjusting for age, his shooting trajectory is closer to Steph.
shoot like steph big like klay
I mean he’s a fantastic player, no doubt. Good chance he ends up having an even greater career than klay given how he’s starting off – I just think the kid has a ways to go before he’s in the same convos as Steph as an offensive player. And also comparing him to KT is by no means a slight. Bro is a first ballot hall of famer haha
Yeah, fair. Obviously don’t mean to suggest he’s definitely going to be better than Steph. Just that, from his rookie year stats, it’s a reasonable comp.
Just like for Cooper Flagg. For his age, he’s in LeBron-like company. That’s not saying he will be better than LeBron. If he ends up “only” as good as Blake Griffin, that’s still a great outcome. But it’s understandable to compare his trajectory next to LeBron’s.
I kind of feel like both of you think the other is saying something they aren’t.
Y’all make me laugh
Look at Kon man, so inspirational
I mean there’s a long way to go before even being compared to stephs shooting.
I don’t think Steph has a comparison when you factor in shot selection, efficiency, and volume, but Kon is as close a comparison on the latter two as any rookie has ever been.
I think it also makes sense to compare a rookie trending towards smashing the rookie 3PM record to the GOAT shooter. Kon will likely take the record later this month or in early March, then build himself a nice margin over number 2, which is a very Curry-like thing to do.
No longer than any other comps. I think it’s fair to compare rookie seasons. That being said Steph’s rookie season isn’t anywhere near as much of an outlier now. Different game.
Had to read it again bc I read hard instead of here and wtf’d
I’m bricked up
He’s who vivek thought Stauskas was
funny how hes like polar opposite of Ball who was the last hope for Charlotte.
Considering that Kon is a milwaukee native and that he had been balling out, it’s very cool to see Giannis giving such high praise
Giannis to Charlotte confirmed
If you insist
Milwaukee will get Xaiver Tillman and two 2nds and LIKE it
Only if the over/under makes sense
I bet Giannis can’t take the over of bringing Charlotte 60 wins plus a championship next season. Do it, you won’t!
Kon changed my life and the Hornets franchise
I was bummed abt getting the fourth pick, but we really ended up getting the best player of the draft instead 😭
let’s be real, second best
i love kon but cooper is best
For a while I had Kon first in my mental ROTY race, but gotta admit Cooper is on another level lately. But it’s wild, because in most other years Kon would be the runaway winner. He’s so damn good it’s crazy.
Ever since the Kon and Cooper matchup Flagg has been playing at a literal all nba level
The man is actually a generational basketball talent in every sense of the word. Him and Wemby will be the Magic/Bird of this Era
Coop might be the best ball player, Kon is better for the franchise and culture(currently)
Depends on how you define “best.”
Kon is the better basketball player, but he will never have the frame Cooper has.
And Cooper has skill and IQ too (he ain’t raw), so it isn’t a knock on him…it’s just Kon has insane BBIQ.
Kon not even outta first gear. Cooper realized he’s failing out of the ROTY race so he’s locking in.
well until kon gets out of first gear, which i am completely okay if he doesn’t as he is playing great and don’t need him to change, cooper is better
True, i’ll take the Finals MVP as consolation
yeah i agree, when we inevitably have the best 5 years of finals being mavs hornets whoever wins more will be crowned better
It’s insane how stacked this class is. It feels like Queen has gone mostly ignored (maybe because he’s in NO) but he’s been one of my favorites to tune into. If you told me last year I’d be watching Hornets and Pelicans games at least weekly idk what I’d even think to say to that.
Same for me. I’d started to watch more 76ers aswell. It’s a nice team but im a bit sad nothing great happened during trades beside the (for me) weird thunders trade.
Ehhh it did clear space for Walker to get his 2 way converted, and as a by product pick up that forward Martin from the Nets on his own 2 way. I would have really liked to go after another real center option though like Zubac, get some of these randoms like Beauchamp or Beasley off our roster.
There’s a few expiring contracts at the end of the year, I think Lowry and Drummond. For all his flaws Morey is a genuinely elite drafter too, so who knows how next season looks. Really I just want to get a good matchup in the first round (Celtics, Raptors, maybe Cavs) and hope to get into the second. Give some real play off experience to a lot of these guys like Bona, Barlow, and VJ. I like the future of the team.
Yeah the young guys look amazing. It’s gonna be fun watching them grow. Thanks for the explanation! Im not super deep into contracts and stuff so that helped a lot.
Get zion outta there. Its queen’s team now
Seems like he revitalized Lamelo and Brandon Miller too. Y’all have been a lot of fun to watch, can’t say that I was willfully tuning into many Hornets games prior…
I think just all of them being healthy at the same time has revitalized the team.
Yeah I love Kon but people are really ignoring the big picture here. There’s a good amount of things that have gone into getting to this point starting from MJ selling the team. Kon is a big contributing factor but the guy didnt single handedly save this franchise, I would argue it’s more likely that MJ’s incompetence up top was single handedly tanking it.
Brandon Miller was just injured for a while. Don’t need to glaze Kon that hard.
Miles Bridges has been the only consistently healthy hornet since ‘22. Everyone else be playin like 15 games at a time then missing 20-50 lol. Kon is a game changer for sure, but the biggest difference has been health
Kon’s presence has kept our players healthy. 🙌
Kon: “Stop getting hurt LaMelo and Brandon we’re going to win games now”
LaMelo’s Ankles and Brandon’s shoulder magically heal
He makes them drink milk when they go to the KKKK house
How can you say with certainty that Kon didn’t heal him
Lmao how the hell did a rookie “revitalize” them? Miller and LaMelo are just both healthy for the first time
“I bet you’ll be the clear ROTY” Giannis said with an evil grin
Lmao driving up those Kalshi bets whenever he can
Bill Simmons somewhere feeling an erection coming on for some reason.
Kon been getting praise from all his GOATs this year. First Klay now this. So happy for him getting his flowers on what is an amazing season, and that everyone can see what we do watching him night after night
It’s dope that Giannis always shows love to rookies and the youngin and is always willing to give them knowledge.
Dude is the perfect off guard. Can’t double off him, smart cutter, strong enough to punish small guards, quick and has enough wiggle to get by big switchers. He’s a better Steve Smith to me
That’s high praise!
I love when the older guys show love to the younger ones.
Way too much generational hate
Obi Wan KONobi
I might take Kon over Harper+Castle combined.
The Hornets won the draft.
Lol. Based on your prior post, this is not a “might”.
This one?
[Engelmann] I would say that Knueppel is the 4th-best rookie of the past 30 years, based on his performance so far… predict Knueppel to rank squarely among the NBA’s top 20 players — maybe even the top 10 — for about the next decade. He’s already playing at an All-Star level.
I mean even if true, it also comes down to how you value Castle+Harper. Spurs fans seem to think Harper is a future MVP and Castle will be like some Jrue Holiday / Jimmy Butler hybrid.
Slow down…that Spurs guard combo you mentioned will get more reps than Kon in a tougher playoffs conference which could ultimately elevate their game higher.
Idk man we good in the West
Will they though? Can they even share the floor at the same time? Neither of them can shoot and that’s a non-starter in the nba.
(Yes I know I’m biased)
There were multiple games at Duke last season where Kneuppel was the best player on that team, even with Flagg playing well.
I was hoping he was somehow going to fall to the Pels in the draft, but I guess everyone else was wise to Kneuppel by that point.
Flagg was injured for the ACC tournament and Kon led them to victory
Kon has the cleanest jumper in NBA history in my opinion
He should be called the Kon Artist
That’s what Eric Collin’s already calls him I was hoping for King Kon but he’s not there yet I think
Feel the same way man. Kon had a stereotypical look to him but the man is one of my favorite players already
I knew he was special when I watched him cook in the NCAA tournament last year. Let’s go!!
Dude somehow made his weaknesses into solid already. He ain’t a bad defender.
“You haven’t even figured out your spots yet”
He ain’t lying. Look at where he is now. Kon is gonna be good af.
Careful, Hornets fans. Before you know it he’s getting traded to LA for Austin Reeves and a first.
Medically rescinded. Xrays show Kon got that dog in him
10⁄10 response
He’s ROTY in my opinion. What he’s doing as a rookie (his 3pt volume and efficiency) is more impressive than Flagg.
Even beyond his stats, he’s a a major part behind the turnaround of this Hornets team.
Slow down. Flagg is averaging a good bit higher in points, rebounds, and assists while also being a great defender already. Kon’s shooting has been amazing but it’s literally the only aspect of the game that he’s been better than Flagg at.
Cooper is going to win, but let’s not pretend his counting stats difference isn’t because Dallas threw in the towel and just started letting Coop have 50% usage lmao.
And Kon has one of the best playmakers in the league setting him up
They’re both great. Equals, in my mind. You’re seriously downplaying how good Knueppel is. He plays like a 10-year veteran right out of the gate. There is nothing on the court that he’s not at least average at, and most of them, he’s above average at.
Yes, even defense. He’s average at worst.
I am not downplaying Kon at all he’s fucking great and would be an easy ROTY in most other seasons, Flagg is just a bit better than that even. And yeah Kon is not a minus defender at all, people only think that because… Well, you know lol… But Flagg is legitimately a very good defender already
Him and everyone else on the floor.
…yeah? were comparing him to Flagg not to Brandon Miller
I think his point is the increase in good looks isn’t corresponding to a huge increase in volume of shots he takes because Lamelo is sharing the ball with every single player. I mean we’ve got 4 guys averaging 18+. If it was Lamelo Kon and a bunch of bums then the elite playmaking would be more of a factor because most of the playmaking would be for Kon. But that’s not the case, so using Lamelo as a reason to justify comparing counting stats is kind of silly. Not saying Kon is better than Coop, I don’t think he is, but I think eye test or stats per minute is a better argument than volume based stats.
The gap in per 36 is basically identical to the counting stats though so pretty irrelevant
averaging a good bit higher in points, rebounds, and assists
“A good bit higher” here is 1.6 more points per game, 1.1 more rebounds per game and 0.5 assists per game. They’re higher across the board but those are extremely close statlines.
You’re right I should have said a non-negligible bit more rather than a good bit more
My point is that the counting stat gap is enough at this point in the season that it’s unlikely that Kon will pass them, especially because Flagg has been continuously ramping up as the season has gone on while Kon has been more steady. and having a gap in every counting stat while also being quite a bit better defensively means that it’s tough to argue Kon is better.
Since when is a gap of 1.6 points per game non-negligible? That’s literally nothing over the course of a season. A few bad games from Coop and they’d be back to being virtually tied, like they have been for most of the season.
And a few bad games from Kon and the gap could be 4 points. Argument goes both ways.
Kon started much better than Coop but after that first month Coop has made the difference up and then some and has only been getting better as the season goes on
Over the last 20 games Flagg has been averaging 23 to Kon’s 18. The gap will be wider by the end of the season.
The difference in points scored is really negligible, and advanced stats don’t seem to agree that Flagg is a great defender already. In fact, Kon leads Coop in every all-around advanced stats I could find (BPM, EPM, LEBRON).
Honestly, I see it going either way whenever Kon pulls ahead, Cooper catches up, and vice versa, but if Kon becomes like the 8th player in NBA history to average 50/40/90, I think the media would just have to give it to him.
Man you really don’t watch basketball do you? Kon hasn’t even put up a 40 point game and Flagg has several while also playing elite defense
I’ve been watching too much of that new GOT show bc I imagine Dunk whenever I see kons face. Both tall, both look alike, but ig kons smart while Dunk is pretty stupid
Kold
Oh my god the misrepresentation…..
He said PROBABLY ONE OF the smartest Rookies I’ve seen. People just desperate to make things more than they are, it’s weird.
Shams typing up a hypothetical trade scenario rn
I kinda hate this steady stream of likeable Dukies coming out lately, I’m used to it basically just being Shane Battier
unfortunately kon supports nazis
He unfollowed all those people when this was originally brought up months ago lmao. I hate all those people but hes already distanced himself from it lol what else do you what him to do.
lmao not support nazis?
he did all he can do to distance himself, don’t really know what else you want he can’t change the past
If your definition of “supporting nazis” is following them on Instagram, he no longer “supports nazis” because he no longer follows them on Instagram.
Hes probably a bit of a chud lmao but hes also pretty young and seems like a smart upstanding guy otherwise. Give him a chance to grow rather than witch hunt him over Instagram.
Imagine caring who a 19 year old kid follows on social media (probably younger when he followed them also). It’s a big who cares regardless
They’re also decidedly not Nazis but that’s beside the point lmao
they are absolutely nazis dude. you really wanna go there??? way to show your ass
I’m not the one in here showing my ass.
yes showing my ass as someone who doesn’t support nazis like yall
You’ll grow up one day buddy
He’s a white guy from the Midwest. It’s not that surprising
Source
Edit: apparently he as of recently (Idk as of today if he still does) followed Candace owens, Tucker Carlson, and mtg on ig
Edit 2: thanks for the down votes. All I did was provide context. I didn’t make any judgments and I prefaced that I’m not sure if he still does follow.
He unfollowed them months ago lol
I had a conservative phase when I was 14, I have completely turned around since then(the anti sjw current was pretty strong in 2020). Maybe he just forgot he followed them.