One of the NBA’s promising young players can’t catch a break.

It was Knueppel’s season debut after missing the Hornets’ first eight games with a left hamstring strain.

The 21-year-old finished second in Rookie of the Year voting last season to Cooper Flagg after averaging 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists over 81 games, 80 of them starts.

Knueppel also shot 42.5 per cent on 7.9 three-point attempts per game and set the record for most threes by a rookie with 273.

Charlotte is off to a 3-5 start after trading star guard LaMelo Ball to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the off-season and missing Knueppel’s scoring through the first two weeks of the season.