Topps considered making Kon Knueppel part human and part fighter jet before settling on the "Kon-Air" design used for one of his newest basketball cards. Topps revealed the discarded idea July 23 in a story on its Ripped site about the Alter Egos insert in 2025-26 Topps Chrome Updates Basketball. Michael Blaskewicz drew the 10 cards in the set. Knueppel and former Duke teammate Cooper Flagg are the only rookies on the checklist. LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Victor Wembanyama, Nikola Jokić, Kevin Durant, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Ja Morant, and James Harden make up the other eight spots.
The cards have a base version and a Superfractor. Topps did not make numbered parallels between them. Blaskewicz said the Topps team discards most ideas. He told Ripped he'd rather go through 99 bad ideas than settle on the first good one. Blaskewicz mentioned that the group joked about transforming Knueppel into a hybrid of human and jet. Topps replaced that with "Kon-Air" for the final card. The Charlotte Hornets selected Knueppel as the fourth overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
During his time at Duke, he averaged 14.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.7 assists. He also earned the ACC tournament MVP title and made it to the Final Four. Knueppel later helped Charlotte win the first NBA Summer League championship in franchise history. As a rookie, he made 273 3-pointers on 642 attempts. That total led the NBA. LaMelo Ball finished one behind him with 272. Knueppel shot 42.5% from 3-point range on 7.9 attempts per game and 47.5% from the field.
He made 195 of 226 free throws. His 207th 3-pointer broke the NBA rookie record Feb_ABBR. 26 in Indianapolis. Sion James, who played with Knueppel at Duke the previous season, made the pass. Knueppel scored 28 points and went 8-of-12 from 3-point range. On April 2, against Phoenix, Knueppel moved past Kemba Walker for the Hornets' single-season record. Walker made 260 3-pointers in 2018-19. Knueppel's 261st put him ahead. He scored 20 points in 33 minutes in Charlotte's 127-107 win and went 4-of-9 from behind the arc.
Hornets coach Charles Lee poured water over Knueppel's head before his postgame press conference. Knueppel played 81 games, starting 80, and averaged 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists in 31.5 minutes. His true shooting percentage was 63.3%. Charlotte noted several other marks during the season. By Dec_ABBR. 31, against Golden State, Knueppel had 12 games with at least 20 points while shooting 50% from the field, 40% from 3, and 90% from the line.
The Hornets said he passed Curry for the most such games by a rookie. His fifth 3-pointer against Atlanta on Feb_ABBR. 7 gave him 14 games with at least five makes from deep. On March 6 against Miami, Knueppel recorded his 27th game with at least 20 points and a true shooting percentage of 65% or better. Charlotte said he passed Michael Jordan with that total. Knueppel made his 250th 3-pointer on March 26 against New York. The Hornets said no player 22 or younger had reached 250 in a season.
He also won the first four Rookie of the Month awards. Knueppel became the first Charlotte player to win the award four times. Flagg beat Knueppel for Rookie of the Year by 26 voting points, the second-smallest margin since the current voting format began in 2002-03. Knueppel made the All-Rookie First Team with Flagg, Dylan Harper, VJ Edgecombe, and Cedric Coward. Blaskewicz told Ripped that the Alter Egos artwork traces back to a 1990 cover of Oakland Athletics Magazine.
Erik Larsen drew Rickey Henderson as an intergalactic superhero for the cover. For the Topps project, Blaskewicz said he consulted his sons, ages 17 and 12, read fan message boards, talked with superfans, and watched player interviews. He used Wembanyama to describe where the line is on the artwork. Six arms would fit the concept, Blaskewicz said. The wrong stripes on his jersey would not. Topps also put Knueppel on the Rookie Debut Patch Autographs checklist in Chrome Updates.
Flagg and Harper are included as well. Each Rookie Debut Patch Autograph is a 1-of-1 card made with the NBA Debut patch worn by the player. Topps NOW produced cards during Knueppel's rookie season, too. His card from his Oct_ABBR. 22, 2025 NBA debut had a print run of 2,103.
