Kon Knueppel details his whirlwind month, which saw him win Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month and appear on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Knueppel admits to being nervous about the late-night appearance but calls being on the show a "cool experience." He stresses the need for the team to stick to their habits and "get better as a collective unit." By DIAMOND VENCES
Five years ago, when Grant Williams was only a few months into his journey as an NBA player, he had an idea.
So what if he was a rookie with the Boston Celtics, not far removed from his time hooping it up at Tennessee or those fun nights in high school at Providence Day. Williams hatched a plan and put it into motion.
“I wanted to show appreciation to the organization and staff, and less so for the people I was directly next to,” Williams said. “Because every year I see guys doing stuff for their teammates. But for the people that work day-to-day, I thought about the entire organization in the sense of we’re not able to do things we’re able to do without seats in the stands. We’re not able to do it without the partners that we have, without people that work on those things.
“So, whether it’s front office, whether it’s operations, whether it’s people that are security, top-to-bottom I wanted to show them appreciation. I told myself year over year as my contract increased, I’ll do more of a gift and maybe get guys involved in the future.”
Charlotte Hornets big man Grant Williams hands out gifts to employees in his annual tradition. Photo courtesy @hornets
Which is why in between tedious sessions working out, with eyes affixed on returning to the basketball court in his third season with the Charlotte Hornets, Williams takes a break on this day. The Hornets big man wasn’t equipped with a red sack full of goodies, but he had a list and probably checked it twice for the sake of accuracy.
During this and every holiday season, Williams is intent on conveying genuine acknowledgement, spreading positivity in his own way.
Surprising Hornets, Swarm employees with gifts
He surprised employees of the Hornets and the Greensboro Swarm, the team’s G League affiliate, with Beats by Dre Pill speakers as part of his personal tradition. A total of 410 individuals were gifted.
Not a bad present, considering Williams gave away Beis carry-on luggage and duffle bags to Hornets employees last year. That’s a big change from the personalized candles dished out with the Celtics in 2020. One year, it was robes. The next happened to be a massage.
Williams had visions on upping the ante in 2025 and took into account being able to use the gift at the beach, home or someplace where they may want to turn up.
“I remember there were three or four suggestions,” Williams said, “and then I was talking to one of my good friends, and she was like, ‘Hey, have you thought about speakers?’ And I was like, ‘I tried to do headphones one year.’ I tried to do AirPods and Beats pods or even just JBLs. And at the time when I was a rookie, it wasn’t affordable. But this year when it became a little bit more apparent, I was like, ‘Ok, it’s possible then.’
“So, we did the Beats Pills Pluses, because they can go to an office, they might have to get connected. They might be jumping for Fancy Friday or something like that. It might be something cool to do.”
Charlotte Hornets big man Grant Williams hands out gifts to employees in his annual tradition. Photo courtesy @hornets
Grant Williams hands out the gifts himself
And the task isn’t small or passed off to an assistant. Williams prefers to personally walk around, thanking and surprising as many employees in living color as possible leading into the holidays.
No response this year matches the humorous exchange he had with Ross Goldfarb.
“I see Ross every day, Ross is one of our video social media sides,” Williams said. “And I’m handing out speakers. I don’t know every name, but I know the ones that I know, right? I try to hand it to Ross and Ross looks at me crazy. I’m like, ‘Wait, am I tripping? Do I not know who Ross is?’ So, I’m over here looking right and left like, ‘Wait, is Ross … This is not Ross then I guess.’ And all of a sudden he’s like, ‘Yeah, Ross.’ I’m like, ‘Brother, I just tried to hand it to you, and you had me looking crazy!’
“And he started laughing and started blushing. Everybody started teasing him for it. So I said, ‘Ross, you’re on my naughty list for next year because you made me look crazy just now even though I know exactly who you are. I try to hand you the speaker directly, and you hit me with the pumpkin.”
Jokes aside, though, the reactions Williams receives — despite some now knowing the gifts are coming — are priceless. He enjoys every bit of the interaction.
“My goal is one day,” Williams said, “whether it’s getting other players involved or someone, is to take care of not just full-time employees, but (also) part-time. Because I feel bad, too, when I think about people I see every day … people that not only help protect us throughout the game, but also they might not have a full-time salary but they are always here.
“So, that’s the thought behind it. I don’t do it for any thank you or anything like that because I just want to say that I’m thanking them.”
When will he play again?
Gifting aside, there’s at least one other subject Williams is peppered with during even the most casual encounter: When is he going to play again?
Charlotte Hornets big man Grant Williams hands out gifts to employees in his annual tradition. Photo courtesy @hornets
He’s heard it repeatedly over the past few months, especially since he’s a year removed from tearing his right ACL. He has yet to have a rehab assignment with the Swarm, which is typically among the final steps before the Hornets bring a player fully back from injury.
“All the time,” Williams said about being asked about his return. “But I’d say that for me, it’s all about making sure that I come back to build this team up to compete and win. So, capability. I feel great right now, but at the same time understanding that we have a plan. We have a plan that we’re approaching, and who knows when that date comes around?
“But whenever it is, I feel like I’ll be at my best self and be able to give 110% to this roster, to this team, and be able to show off for this organization. Because we’re trying to turn this thing around the right way and I wouldn’t want to do it anywhere else.”