Charlotte will begin Wednesday night in Brooklyn with two guards unavailable: Kon Knueppel remains sidelined by a left hamstring strain, while Coby White is out with a left calf strain. The Hornets meet the Nets at 7:30 p.m. ET on League Pass.
Key takeaways
- Knueppel has returned to individual court work but has not been cleared for the regular-season opener.
- White injured his left calf on Oct. 5 in training camp and did not appear again during preseason.
- Knueppel posted 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists over 81 games in 2025-26.
- The young wing made an NBA-best 273 threes last season, surpassing Keegan Murray’s former rookie mark of 206.
- White signed a three-year, $74 million deal with Charlotte after arriving from Chicago in February.
Charlotte’s perimeter depth takes an opening-night hit
The Hornets announced Oct. 20 that Knueppel had resumed individual on-court activity as he works back from the hamstring issue. That step puts him back on the floor, but not yet in the game rotation for the trip to Brooklyn.
Knueppel’s absence removes one of Charlotte’s biggest floor-spacing threats. He shot 42.5% from 3-point range during his 2025-26 season, pairing high-volume shooting with a well-rounded stat line. His 273 made threes led the league and set a new rookie standard, clearing the 206 Murray made in his rookie campaign.
The production earned Knueppel a spot on the All-Rookie First Team, and he finished second in Rookie of the Year voting. Charlotte will have to open without those points, that shooting gravity and another young perimeter option available to soak up minutes.
White’s timeline is less advanced. The veteran guard strained his calf early in camp, on Oct. 5, and was held out for the rest of the preseason. He will also miss the Nets game as the Hornets manage the injury at the beginning of the schedule.
White’s late-season impact still matters
Charlotte acquired White from the Bulls in February, and he quickly became an important part of the club’s backcourt. His defining moment came in the play-in win over Miami, when he scored 19 points and drilled a late turnaround 3-pointer to send the game into overtime.
The Hornets retained him over the summer on a three-year contract worth $74 million. With White and Knueppel both unavailable Wednesday, Charlotte’s opening-night guard and wing rotation will need to absorb two significant absences before the first tip in Brooklyn.
