Elvin Hayes vs. Kon Knueppel Season by Season Comparison
Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Kon Knueppel and Elvin Hayes, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.
Who had the better rookie season? Who had best stats in their 10th season? Who won a championship first? These questions and many others, are answered here.
Elvin Hayes played 16 years in the NBA, 15 more than Kon Knueppel, who played 1. Elvin Hayes had the first of his seasons in 1968-69, while Kon Knueppel had his rookie season in 2025-26. With that starting point, here you can take a look at each of their seasons side by side and compare how their careers evolved in achievements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.
Their Careers | |||
| Player | Total Seasons | Playoffs Played | NBA Years |
| Elvin Hayes | 16 | 10 | 1968-69 to 1983-84 |
| Kon Knueppel | 1 | 0 | 2025-26 |
Comparison Season by Season |
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Jump to season: | ||
Rookie Season |
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| Elvin Hayes | Kon Knueppel | |
| Season | 1968-69 | 2025-26 |
| Team | San Diego Rockets | Charlotte Hornets |
| Honors & Awards |  All-Rookie First Team | - |
| Scoring Leader | - | |
| All-Star Game | - | |
| Playoffs | Rockets Lost West Div Semis | Did Not Play |
Rookie Season Stats Comparison | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Regular Season Stats | ||||||||||||||||||||
| G | Min | Pts | ORb | DRb | Reb | Ast | Stl | Blk | TO | PF | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | ||||
| Elvin Hayes | 82 | 45.1 | 28.4 | - | - | 17.1 | 1.4 | - | - | - | 3.2 | 11.3 | 25.4 | .447 | - | - | - | 5.7 | 9.1 | .626 |
| difference: | +65 | +11.5 | +9.0 | +11.3 | +1.5 | -0.8 | +4.5 | +11.6 | +.044 | +3.6 | +6.7 | +.274 | ||||||||
| Kon Knueppel | 17 | 33.6 | 19.4 | 1.1 | 4.7 | 5.8 | 2.9 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 6.8 | 13.8 | .491 | 3.7 | 8.5 | .438 | 2.1 | 2.4 | .900 |
| Playoffs Stats | ||||||||||||||||||||
| G | Min | Pts | ORb | DRb | Reb | Ast | Stl | Blk | TO | PF | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | ||||
| Elvin Hayes | 6 | 46.3 | 25.8 | - | - | 13.8 | 0.8 | - | - | - | 3.5 | 10.0 | 19.0 | .526 | - | - | - | 5.8 | 8.8 | .660 |
| Kon Knueppel | DNP | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Additional Years |
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* Elvin Hayes played 15 seasons more than Kon Knueppel in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 2 to 16, from 1970 to 1984—Elvin Hayes played in 9 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those 15 extra years over Kon Knueppel, Elvin Hayes got these achievements: | |
| Honors & Awards | 3 All-NBA First Team 3 All-NBA Second Team 2 All-Defensive Second Team 2 Rebounds Leader 11 All-Star Game |