A hometown dinner brings Hornets together before Milwaukee matchup
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Charlotte Hornets rookie guard Kon Knueppel turned his first NBA trip to Milwaukee into a family affair, inviting the entire club to his parents’ house on Nov. 14, one night before facing the Bucks.
The team bus rolled down Knueppel’s neighborhood street, delivering players and staff for a meal that stretched about 90 minutes. “Taking the bus down my street, going home, that was weird,” the 19-year-old first-round pick said ahead of Friday night’s game on Nov. 15. “A bunch of NBA players in my house—my family enjoyed it. My brothers definitely enjoyed it.”
Veteran center Mason Plumlee, in his 13th NBA season, told Knueppel it was the first time he had ever visited a teammate’s home for a team gathering. The rookie’s mother, Chari, said the visit left a strong impression. “They’re young and they’re so good to my younger sons,” she noted. “It was just a really great life experience, a core memory.”
Basketball is familiar territory for the Knueppel household: both parents played collegiately, and Kon is the eldest of five boys.
Knueppel’s homecoming continued at Fiserv Forum, where roughly 2,000 friends and relatives watched him score a career-high 32 points. Despite his performance, the Hornets fell to Milwaukee 147-134 in overtime in an NBA Cup contest.
Source: ESPN
