The Charlotte Hornets have selected Duke wing Kon Knueppel with the fourth overall pick of the 2025 NBA Draft. He was the best player available based on my personal big board, and I’d like to thank them for allowing me to provide my input.

Knueppel is arguably the best 3-point shooter in this draft class, but calling him a shooter is selling short his overall skill set. He’s a smart secondary ball handler who had very good chemistry with Khaman Malauch as a roll threat in the pick and roll. Despite being a below the rim athlete, he had elite finishing numbers in the paint, even on self created looks. He’s not a shutdown defender, but he hustles and knows where to be. He excels in a team concept.

And of course the shooting gives him a clear path to contributing right away. He was nearly a 50/40/90 player in as a freshman at Duke. It’s very easy to see him shooting 40% from three sooner rather than later while adding plus play making, good team defense, and an overall winning style of play.

I know there are concerns about his “ceiling,” but in my opinion, I think a lot of that comes from the lack of flash in his game. There’s no eye catching above the rim dunks or silky crossover highlights that you can look at as some sort of untapped potential. But I don’t think that’s a fair way to project him. He makes a team better, which is the whole point of a basketball player on a basketball team. All the talent and skill in the world doesn’t matter if you don’t use it in a way that makes the team better. Having a foundation of playing winning basketball with an elite NBA skill in his 3-point shooting gives him a great base to build. There are plenty of below the rim players that make huge impacts on the game. Knueppel has shown he can be that kind of player.

Here’s a good scouting breakdown of Knueppel.