2025-26 Topps Chrome Kon Knueppel Rookie Card #254 RayWave Refractor Hornets

Kon Knueppel arrived in the NBA as the No. 4 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, selected by the Charlotte Hornets straight out of one season at Duke — where he earned ACC Tournament MVP honors playing alongside Cooper Flagg. He wasted no time justifying the hype: 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game in his rookie season earned him a spot on the NBA All-Rookie First Team, a Rookie of the Month nod, and a starring role in Charlotte's playoff push. With LaMelo Ball now gone, Knueppel is the face of the franchise — and his rookie paper is only getting more relevant.

This card is his 2025-26 Topps Chrome Rookie Card #254 in the RayWave Refractor parallel — a retail-exclusive finish that delivers a distinctive, rippling wave pattern layered over Topps' signature chromium stock. The RayWave parallel is exclusive to mega box retail configurations, making it a format-specific find that hobby box hunters simply cannot pull. It's an unnumbered parallel, which means the rainbow chaser and the PC builder both want it, and supply is naturally limited to what cracked open those retail boxes at release.

• Set: 2025-26 Topps Chrome Basketball — Topps' flagship return to NBA chromium
• Card #254 — Kon Knueppel Rookie Card (RC)
• Parallel: RayWave Refractor — mega box retail exclusive with a bold wave-pattern finish
• Player: 2025 NBA Draft Pick #4, Charlotte Hornets, NBA All-Rookie First Team (2026)
• Comparable Wave Refractor sales have tracked in the $50–$80 range raw; the RayWave sits in the same tier with a more visually distinct surface

Knueppel is now the cornerstone of a rebuilding Hornets franchise alongside Brandon Miller. His rookie cards — especially format-exclusive parallels like this Topps Chrome RayWave Refractor — are exactly what a long-term PC demands before the prices reflect what Charlotte has on its hands.

Available at Collector Station, Easley, SC. Local pickup available. All sales final. Shipping damage must be reported within 48 hours of delivery with photos.