Kon Knueppel, Dylan Harper Named Rookies Of The Month
Hornets wing Kon Knueppel has won a fourth consecutive Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month award, the NBA announced today (via Twitter). No other Eastern rookie has earned the honor in 2025/26, as Knueppel has now claimed the award in October/November, December, January, and February.
Knueppel continued to solidify his case for Rookie of the Year recognition by leading Charlotte to an 8-3 record in 11 games in February. He averaged 21.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in 31.5 minutes per game while knocking down more than half of his field goal attempts (50.3%).
Perhaps most impressively, Knueppel made 49-of-101 three-pointers, averaging 4.5 makes per game at a 48.5% clip.
Knueppel had shared Rookie of the Month honors with his former Duke teammate Cooper Flagg three times in a row, but with Flagg sidelined for much of February due to a foot injury, Spurs guard Dylan Harper became the first non-Blue Devil to break through this season, earning the Rookie of the Month award in the West.
Harper’s Spurs didn’t lose a single game in February, going 10-0 when he was active. The No. 2 overall pick registered 12.5 PPG, 4.9 APG, and 3.9 RPG in 25.1 MPG while shooting 55.4% from the floor. San Antonio had a +21.0 net rating during Harper’s 252 minutes on the court in February.
Sixers guard VJ Edgecombe, Wizards forward Will Riley, and Nets guard Nolan Traore were also nominated for Rookie of the Month in the Eastern Conference, while Jazz forward Ace Bailey, Grizzlies guard Javon Small, Kings big man Maxime Raynaud, and Mavericks forward Flagg were the other nominees in the West, per the league (Twitter link).
Kings Notes: Losing Streak, Young Players, Cardwell, Hunter
The Kings currently top the Tankathon list with a league-worst 12-41 record. They dropped their 11th straight on Friday, matching their longest losing streak since the 1991/92 season. The franchise record for consecutive losses is 14.
Head coach Doug Christie rode with his younger players — Devin Carter, Daeqwon Plowden and rookies Nique Clifford, Maxime Raynaud and Dylan Cardwell — down the stretch of a 114-111 loss to the Clippers on Friday.
“For me, it’s extremely tough (to lose), but that’s part of the job, so I just get back at it and try to game-plan and figure out how to put them in the best position to get a win,” Christie said, per Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee. “But the value for these young players is incredible, so I’m proud of them to watch them continue to go out and grow and compete at a high level in high-leverage moments. You don’t get those opportunities. They’re finding their way.”
Here’s more on the Kings:
- Cardwell, an undrafted rookie center, posted his second double-double with career highs of 14 points and 14 rebounds. It was his first game since being promoted to the standard roster. The former two-way player received a four-year contract. “He earned that through really, really hard work with a lot of good development down in the G League and here with our coaches,” Christie said. “The kid has done a hell of a job. I don’t know that proud is the word because it goes beyond that. I’m proud of him and proud for him because he did the work. Kudos to him because that doesn’t happen often and he affects winning.”
- The Kings created a full-time roster spot for Cardwell when they traded Dennis Schröder, Keon Ellis and Dario Saric as part of a three-team deal that brought De’Andre Hunter to Sacramento, Anderson notes. “One of the other byproducts of the deal that was important for us as well was, in sending out three players, it opened up a roster spot for us to elevate and sign to a full-time NBA contract a guy like Dyan Cardwell, who has more than earned it and who has quickly become a fan favorite here,” Kings general manager Scott Perry said. “He does things that are very important for any successful basketball team. He’s an energetic defender. He’s able to protect the rim. He’s a switchable center, big man, who can guard guys away from the basket as well. He’s an excellent rebounder, one of the top rebounders for the minutes he’s played as a rookie already, and we continue to see a great trajectory for him.”
- In his second game with the club, Hunter suffered a left eye injury and departed early. The veteran wing played 25 minutes and shot just 1-for-8 from the field while committing three turnovers. He had nine points in 26 minutes in his Kings debut against Memphis on Wednesday.
Kings Notes: Murray, Ellis, LaVine, Raynaud, Westbrook
The Kings‘ season has been defined by injuries and losses, and both continued Sunday night against Milwaukee, Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee writes in a subscriber-only story. Keegan Murray and Keon Ellis were both forced out of the contest as Sacramento ran its losing streak to five games while dropping 15 of its last 18.
Murray, who recently returned from a calf strain, hurt his left ankle in the third quarter. His season debut was delayed until November 20 while recovering from surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb, and he has only been available for 19 of the team’s 36 games. The 25-year-old forward is considered one of the Kings’ few untouchable players heading into the trade deadline after receiving a five-year, $140MM rookie-scale extension in October.
Coach Doug Christie wasn’t able to provide much information on the injury after the game. “I don’t know yet, so it’s not even for me to speculate,” he told reporters. “Obviously, we’ll get everything and you guys will know as soon as we do.”
Sacramento also lost Ellis, who suffered a left thumb injury and only played five minutes. The 26-year-old guard has been the subject of trade speculation, with the team reportedly seeking a protected first-round pick in return.
“It’s hard, man,” Christie said of the constant injuries. “You feel for your kids, first and foremost. It’s just difficult.”
There’s more from Sacramento:
- There was some positive injury news on Sunday as Zach LaVine returned to the court after missing nine games with a sprained left ankle, Anderson adds. He came off the bench for the first time since being traded to the Kings last season and finished with 20 points, three rebounds and four assists in 36 minutes. LaVine said he didn’t have a target date to return, but was waiting for “whatever day my ankle felt best.” (Twitter video link from James Ham of The Kings Beat)
- Maxime Raynaud was in the starting lineup after getting a clean bill of health following an injury scare. The rookie center had to be helped off the court after hurting his left leg on Friday, but an MRI revealed no structural damage. “I just got really scared that one moment, felt like your knee twist a little bit like that,” Raynaud said. “Just glad the MRI came out clean.” (Twitter video link from Sean Cunningham of KCRA News)
- Russell Westbrook had a 21-point night and reached another milestone by passing Oscar Robertson to move into 15th place on the career scoring list. He’s now the leading scorer among all point guards in NBA history.
Injury Notes: LaVine, D. Jones, T. Young, J. Smith, C. White
After missing nine games with a left ankle sprain, Kings wing Zach LaVine will return to action on Sunday against Milwaukee, tweets James Ham of TheKingsBeat.com. Rookie center Maxime Raynaud will also be active after having an injury scare in Friday’s loss to Phoenix.
LaVine is reportedly one of several players the Bucks are monitoring ahead of the trade deadline, so it’s an interesting coincidence that he’s returning today.
Here are a few more injury-relates updates from around the NBA:
- Clippers forward Derrick Jones Jr. suffered a right knee injury in Saturday’s loss to Boston and will undergo an MRI on Sunday, reports Law Murray of The Athletic (All Twitter links here). According to Murray, Jones limped to the locker room after being fouled by Payton Pritchard in the fourth quarter. It’s a disappointing development for the high-flying Jones, who just returned to action on December 28 after missing several weeks with a sprained MCL in the same knee.
- Hawks point guard Trae Young missed his fourth straight game on Saturday at Toronto, per Brad Rowland of Locked On Hawks (Twitter link). The four-time All-Star has been battling a right quad contusion. Kristaps Porzingis (return to competition reconditioning) was also out for the second night of a back-to-back, which was expected, Rowland notes (via Twitter).
- Bulls big man Jalen Smith has entered the NBA’s concussion protocol after taking a hard hit to the head in the third quarter of Saturday’s loss to Charlotte, head coach Billy Donovan said after the game (Twitter link via K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network). Smith has been ruled out of Monday’s contest at Boston after being diagnosed with a concussion (link to injury report). On a brighter note, guard Coby White has a chance to return Monday — he’s questionable with what the team is calling right calf injury management.
Pacific Notes: Clippers, Raynaud, Schröder, Post
The Clippers ranked 29th in pace during a catastrophic 6-21 start that almost ruined their season. Instead of speeding up, they’ve slowed down even more during their six-game winning streak, writes Law Murray of The Athletic, ranking dead last in pace but first in both offensive and defensive rating. They’ve also been number one in their rate of attempted free throws, while allowing the fewest three-pointers in the league.
Coach Tyronn Lue credits the turnaround to the players’ willingness to stay committed to the things that are necessary to succeed.
“Just having humility, continue to keep working hard, pay attention to detail, executing and then just being unselfish, sharing the basketball,” he said. “Allowing our other guys to make plays and be aggressive offensively. The ball’s going to find Kawhi (Leonard) and James (Harden); it’s going to get back to them eventually. And just those four things. I just give those guys credit for just coming in and continuing to work when our back was against the wall. So when you keep working hard, you keep coming to work every single day, you’ll get the results eventually. That’s what we’ve been able to do.”
Murray notes that a large part of the credit goes to Leonard, who has topped 40 points three times during the current streak after never doing it more than twice in a season. The return of Derrick Jones Jr. from an MCL sprain has solidified the point-of-attack defense alongside Kris Dunn, while John Collins is posting his best rebounding games of the season and Nicolas Batum has been winning his minutes by a wide margin.
“I just think everybody’s urgency just went up as a group,” Dunn said. “Understanding that it’s starting to get — not late into the season, but we’re getting into the thick of the season, and we want to just turn things around. … I just try to do what I do. I think everybody knows what I was brought here to do, and I just try and do it to the best of my ability.”
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- An MRI on Kings rookie center Maxime Raynaud showed no structural damage to his left leg, a source tells Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee (subscription required). Raynaud had to be helped off the court after a collision in the fourth quarter of Friday’s game.
- Kings guard Dennis Schröder said he never gets nervous around the trade deadline, even though he’s been dealt multiple times in his career (Twitter video link from Sean Cunningham of KCRA News). “I always give everything for whoever I’m playing for,” Schröder said. “I’m doing it for myself first, for my family and then of course for the organization who I play for.”
- Warriors coach Steve Kerr isn’t concerned about Quinten Post‘s three-point shooting, even though the second-year center has regressed from 40.8% last season to 33.3% now, per Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle (subscription required). “I think it’s all part of being a young player, gaining the confidence,” Kerr said. “… QP is in his second (season). The game has to slow down. You have to feel that sense of calm and confidence.”
Pacific Notes: Raynaud, Doncic, James, Knecht, Allen
Kings rookie big man Maxime Raynaud is hopeful he didn’t suffer a significant injury on Friday, Chris Biderman of the Sacramento Bee reports. He had to be helped off the court during the fourth quarter after injuring his left leg while attempting to set a screen for Russell Westbrook.
“I’ll be fine,” Raynaud said. “It was just scary. … I think it was just an unpleasing sensation you’re not used to.”
Raynaud will undergo an MRI on his left knee in Sacramento on Saturday. The second-round pick has appeared in 25 games (11 starts), averaging 10.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per night.
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Luka Doncic and LeBron James didn’t have any trouble blending their talents on Friday, Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times notes. The Lakers‘ superstar duo led the club to a 128-121 win over Memphis. Doncic made 17-of-20 free throws while scoring 34 points with eight assists and six rebounds, and James had 31 points, nine rebounds and six assists. It marked the first time since March that Doncic and James have scored at least 30 points in the same game. “It was just playing and playing in rhythm,” James said. “We’re trying to find ways that we can be productive.”
- Dalton Knecht got a chance to play some minutes off the bench on Friday but the Lakers wing didn’t do much with his playing time. He went scoreless in 11 minutes, missing both of his shots. However, Knecht won’t be judged on offensive output alone. “Play hard – that’s been the biggest playing emphasis for him all season,” coach JJ Redick said, per Khobi Price of the Orange County Register. “He’s not going to be judged on whether he makes or misses shots. That helps. When you go through a stretch and you feel like your team isn’t playing hard, you got to play the guys that are consistently playing hard.” Knecht’s role has been reduced drastically this season after he appeared in 78 games as a rookie.
- Suns guard Grayson Allen missed his eighth consecutive game on Friday but he’s close to returning from a right knee injury, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic tweets. “He did (five-on-five on Thursday). That’s a big step,” coach Jordan Ott said. “And then it’s just the response back, which was great. Now he just wants another one. We’re right there.” Allen will participate in another five-on-five again before he comes back to action.
Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel Named December’s Rookies Of The Month
For a second consecutive month, former Duke teammates Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel have been named the NBA’s Rookies of the Month for the Western Conference and Eastern Conference, respectively, the league announced today (Twitter link).
Flagg, this year’s No. 1 overall pick, averaged 23.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.2 blocks, and 1.0 steal in 35.5 minutes per game in 13 outings this past month for the Mavericks, making 51.6% of his shots from the floor and 80.8% from the free throw line.
While Dallas still hasn’t looked like a playoff team – the Mavs went 6-7 in December – Flagg is showing why he was the consensus top prospect in the 2025 draft class and is considered one of the best rookies to enter the NBA in the past decade. He’s the NBA’s youngest player, having turned 19 on December 21.
Although Flagg has taken over as the betting favorite in the Rookie of the Year race, that’s through no fault of Knueppel, who showed no signs of slowing down after his hot start to the season. In 12 games in December, the Hornets sharpshooter averaged 20.8 PPG, 4.7 APG, and 4.2 APG, with an outstanding .500/.462/.903 shooting line.
Only Donovan Mitchell and Stephen Curry have made more three-pointers so far this season than Knueppel, who knocked down 4.0 per game in December and now has 117 on the season.
Grizzlies forward Cedric Coward, Spurs guard Dylan Harper, Mavericks guard Ryan Nembhard, Pelicans big man Derik Queen, and Kings center Maxime Raynaud were also nominated for the Western Conference Rookie of the Month award, while Nets guard Egor Demin, Sixers guard VJ Edgecombe, and Wizards guard Tre Johnson were nominated in the East (Twitter link).
Scott Perry Hopes To Turn Kings Into ‘Sustainable Winner’
The results haven’t been encouraging in Scott Perry‘s first season as general manager of the Kings, but he remains focused on building “sustainable” long-term success, he said in an interview with Marc J. Spears of Andscape.
Perry, who was hired to run the team in April, discusses numerous topics in the lengthy exchange, including his approach to the upcoming trade deadline. Sacramento owns the second-worst record in the Western Conference at 8-25 and has several veteran players who could interest other teams, such as DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, Malik Monk, Russell Westbrook and Dennis Schröder. Perry plans to listen to offers over the next five weeks, but he hasn’t determined that certain players will definitely be moved.
“I’m always going to work the phones,” he said. “I’m always going try to figure out how we can improve the team, both short and long term, if possible. But I want to be prudent and opportunistic in doing that. I’m not somebody who does things out of panic. So, it’s got to make sense for us. So, we’ll see.
“But obviously we know we’re far from a finished product, so we’ve got to be open to getting better. And this is one of the vehicles that you have at your disposal in trying to get better. It’s seeing that there’s a trade that makes sense and fits for not only you, but it’s got to fit for the other team or teams that you’re involved with.”
Perry recognized when he took the job that it wouldn’t be easy to transform a franchise that has only made one playoff appearance since 2007. That came in 2023, and the Kings have been trending downward ever since. They’re currently on pace for the worst record in franchise history, but Perry made it clear that he’s not looking for a “quick fix” to salvage this season at the expense of the future.
“I was hired to build a sustainable winner,” he said. “So, I’m sure there’s an anomaly somewhere, but I don’t know of many quote-unquote quick fixes that turn into being sustainable. And my vision, which is shared by top to bottom ownership and everybody in the building, is to build a sustainable winner. I think that takes a little more time than quick fixes. You got to make appropriate decisions in that at least give you the best chance to lay a foundation to grow into something that’s sustainable. And so that’s what we’re at.
“… What is a quick fix? It’s probably for that season or maybe one other season. But hopefully, my goal and vision is to get to the point that once you become a playoff team you can stay there for a while. And that’s when you get your chance to sustain it.”
Perry admits he’s still in the “evaluation stage” with the franchise as he tries to decide which players to keep. Amid the losing, one positive has been the performance of the team’s rookies. Second-round pick Maxime Raynaud has been a pleasant surprise, especially since moving into the starting lineup after center Domantas Sabonis was sidelined with a meniscus injury. First-round selection Nique Clifford is getting regular rotation minutes, and Dylan Cardwell has been a valuable big man off the bench on a two-way contract.
Perry calls all three rookies “very hard workers” with “very good basketball IQs” and indicated that they’re the type of players he wants to build around.
He also discussed the decision to give Keegan Murray a five-year, $140MM rookie-scale extension in October. Murray hasn’t posted outstanding numbers during his first three-plus NBA seasons, but Perry views him as another building block for the future.
“Another tremendously hard worker, high character guy,” Perry said. “In this league, you can’t have too many 6-8, 6-9 versatile players. The guy has shot the three-point ball at a high clip since coming to the league, even though his numbers are down this year. He missed the first month of the season and is taking a little while to get his rhythm back, too. We’re matching him up with everybody on the other end, but that’s a tribute to his defensive versatility. So, here’s a guy that we put on point guards and we put on centers and all positions in between and he doesn’t flinch. He takes on those assignments. That’s invaluable.
“When you talk about build a team, he’s young, he’s 25 years old. So now we’re coming into the window of hopefully what’s going to be the prime of his career. I see him as being a very important part of establishing that sustainable winning. You need high character, versatile two-way players – as many as you can get. He was here and he liked it here and it’s been good to work with him.”
Pacific Notes: Kuminga, Green, Raynaud, Murray, Hachimura, D. Jones, Allen
Scott Ostler of The San Francisco Chronicle (subscription required) has a prescription for fixing the Warriors that includes trading Jonathan Kuminga and removing Draymond Green from the starting lineup, at least on a temporary basis. He contends that significant changes are required to jump-start a team that had lost three straight games coming into tonight and is in peril of slipping out of a play-in spot.
Ostler argues that Kuminga, who will be eligible to be dealt on January 15, has become too much of a distraction because of his up-and-down play and his constantly changing status in coach Steve Kerr‘s rotation. Kuminga returned to action Thursday after being held out of the previous three games, but he played just 9:31 and missed four of his five shots from the field. Ostler believes Kuminga still has trade value because there are rival teams who think he hasn’t been given a legitimate chance to succeed and he would be better off if he’s freed from Golden State’s system.
Green should come off the bench for at least a game or two, Ostler adds, due to his persistent turnover issues (3.3 per game this season compared to a career average of 2.3) and his poor shooting (39.1% coming into Saturday’s game). Ostler predicts Green would accept the move and it would allow the team to surround Stephen Curry with at least three other shooters in the starting lineup.
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Rookie center Maxime Raynaud will be the Kings‘ starting center “for the foreseeable future” after Friday’s announcement that Domantas Sabonis will miss at least four-to-five more weeks, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee (subscription required). The French big man, who was taken with the 42nd pick in this year’s draft, has been productive since moving into the starting lineup, averaging 15.4 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists over the past five games while shooting 53.4% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc. Coach Doug Christie juggled his starting lineup on Thursday, Anderson adds, moving Keegan Murray from power forward to small forward, which the organization views as his “future” position.
- Lakers coach J.J. Redick said “the hope” is that Rui Hachimura will only be sidelined for three-to-five days with groin soreness, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link). Hachimura started to feel discomfort in his hip area during Thursday’s game at Utah. Redick also said Deandre Ayton (left elbow) and Austin Reaves (left calf) are both making progress and could be ready for Tuesday’s contest at Phoenix.
- Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said Derrick Jones Jr., who’s sidelined with an MCL sprain, has begun playing in five-on-five scrimmages, tweets Law Murray of The Athletic. Murray suggests that Jones might be able to beat his projected timetable for a return in early January.
- Suns guard Grayson Allen missed his second straight game tonight with soreness in his right knee, but he’s expected back soon, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (Twitter link). “No setbacks. He’s doing more and more every day,” coach Jordan Ott said. “It’s going on the right direction. Then we’re hopeful that it continues and he’ll be out there soon.”
Kings’ Domantas Sabonis Out At Least 4-5 More Weeks
Kings center Domantas Sabonis, who has missed a little over a month with a partially torn meniscus in his left knee, continues to make progress in his recovery. However, he will be out at least four-to-five more weeks, which is the next time he’ll be reevaluated, the team announced in a press release (Twitter link via Brenden Nunes of Sactown Sports 1140).
Sabonis experienced knee soreness after a November 16 game at San Antonio and subsequently underwent an MRI, which revealed the meniscus tear. The Kings confirmed a few days later that Sabonis would be checked out again in three-to-four weeks; it has been just over four weeks since that initial announcement.
While Sabonis was unlikely to be selected to his third All-NBA team in 2025/26 anyway with the Kings holding one of the worst records in the NBA (they’re currently 6-21), today’s update will officially make him ineligible, as he has already missed 16 games and will not be able to meet the 65-game requirement for major postseason awards.
The Lithuanian big man, 29, has led the league in rebounds per game each of the past three seasons, earning one of his three All-Star nods and both of his All-NBA berths during that span. In 11 games this season, Sabonis averaged 17.2 points, 12.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.2 steals in 33.2 minutes per contest.
Sabonis’ name has popped up in several trade rumors in ’25/26. But an in-season move appears increasingly unlikely, given that, even in a best-case scenario, he wouldn’t be back until January 16, about three weeks before the February 5 deadline, notes Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints (via Twitter).
With both Sabonis and backup center Drew Eubanks (thumb fracture) out, the Kings have been leaning heavily on rookie second-round pick Maxime Raynaud to man the middle. The French big man has filled in admirably of late, recording career highs of 29 points and 11 rebounds in Thursday’s overtime loss to Portland.