The Charlotte Hornets clinch their first NBA Summer League title, defeating the Sacramento Kings 83-78.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — For the first time in franchise history, the Charlotte Hornets are NBA Summer League champions, beating the Sacramento Kings in the final, 83-78.
The Hornets went 6-0 throughout their time in Las Vegas. This was the first time in franchise history that the Hornets had even advanced to the Summer League semifinals, as one of four teams with a perfect 4-0 record at that time.
Against Sacramento, Charlotte built a double-digit lead in the first half, led by rookie Ryan Kalkbrenner, who led all scoring with 11 points in the first half.
The Kings made it as close as a one-point game in the fourth quarter. Kon Knueppel, the fourth overall pick out of Duke, went 4-11 from three, hitting a timely 3-pointer in the final minute of play. Knueppel led scoring for Charlotte with 21 points.
Ryan Kalkbrenner added 15 points and nine rebounds, while second-year player KJ Simpson added 11 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists.
Knueppel was named the Summer League championship game MVP, winning his second MVP title after he was awarded the honor following the ACC Tournament with Duke.
“I said before, if we were going to come here, we should win,” Knueppel said in his postgame speech.
Contact Danielle Stein at dstein@wcnc.com and follow her on X and Instagram.