Kon Knueppel made history. Kon Knueppel won the internal Team MVP award. And Kon Knueppel deserves enormous credit for what he gave the Charlotte Hornets this season.
But let’s be honest about something the numbers make very clear: LaMelo Ball was the engine.
In the 72 games Ball played this season, the Hornets went 41-31 — a winning percentage that would have placed them comfortably in the playoff picture without needing a play-in survival scramble. His on-off differential sat at +5.8, meaning Charlotte was nearly six points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor than off it. For comparison, Knueppel’s on-off differential was +3.8 — genuinely excellent, but a full two points behind his star teammate.
The Playmaking Load Ball Carried
LaMelo averaged 7.1 assists per game this season, essentially functioning as the Hornets’ entire playmaking operation on his own. He created for Knueppel. He created for the role players. He kept Charlotte’s offense functional and flowing even when the three-point shots were not dropping and the team was fighting through adversity.
Without Ball doing the relentless work of breaking defenses down and finding the open man, Knueppel’s historic three-point season simply does not happen. The shots do not appear. The rhythm is never established. The record books stay unbroken.
A Partnership Worth Celebrating
This is not an argument against Knueppel. It is an argument for seeing Charlotte’s season with complete clarity. LaMelo Ball and Kon Knueppel built something genuinely special together in 2025–26, and the city of Charlotte should be celebrating both of them without hesitation.
But when the history books are written about this turnaround season, LaMelo Ball’s fingerprints will be all over every single chapter — whether or not his name is on the Team MVP trophy.
