"Bench him immediately": Cavaliers' $3.9M center becomes butt of jokes on X for tripping on his own after hitting 'too small' on Kon Knueppel

Charlotte Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel was hit by a "too small" celebration in Monday's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Thomas Bryant was feeling it after hitting a power move on Knueppel, but karma got him after he tripped while celebrating. Bryant immediately became the butt of jokes on X, formerly known as Twitter.

With less than five minutes left in the first quarter, Bryant had Knueppel in the post. He made a quick turnaround basket and celebrated by using the "too small" gesture. But as he was running back on defense, the $3.9 million center tripped at the half-court line and flipped into the 3-point area.

Luckily for Bryant, he didn't suffer an injury and was able to laugh it off. He has earned rotation minutes due to Evan Mobley being out with a left calf strain.

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Thomas Bryant's stumble immediately went viral on social media and was even shared by the official NBA on NBC account on X. NBA fans quickly joked about Bryant celebrating a post-up move against Kon Knueppel, who is several inches shorter than him.

Here are some of the comments on X.

While some fans clowned Thomas Bryant, he's a one-time NBA champion. He's already in his ninth season in the league, and he has carved out a reputation as a decent backup big man.

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Kon Knueppel makes history in first quarter against Cavs

Kon Knueppel makes history in first quarter against Cavs. (Photo: IMAGN)

The Charlotte Hornets drafted Kon Knueppel with the No. 4 pick earlier this year out of Duke. Knueppel has been a perfect fit for the Hornets at small forward and has turned into one of the best rookies from their class.

Knueppel is averaging 19.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists, shooting 47.3% from the field, including 40.9% from beyond the arc, and 91.5% from the charity stripe. He is a serious contender for the Rookie of the Year award, challenging Duke teammate Cooper Flagg of the Dallas Mavericks and VJ Edgecombe of the Philadelphia 76ers.

In the first quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Knueppel made NBA history as the fastest player to make 100 3-point shots, as per NBA.com. The rookie did it in 29 games, with the previous record held by Lauri Markkanen. The then-Chicago Bulls rookie needed 41 games to set the record.

Knueppel also ranked second, tied with Steph Curry, for the second-most 3-point shots made this season, just behind Donovan Mitchell.

Edited by Juan Paolo David