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Duke Basketball Sends Strong Kon Knueppel Message Before NBA Draft

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Matt Audilet | Last updated Jun 25, 2025 4:00 PM ET

The Duke Blue Devils basketball program produced some of the most highly-touted prospects in this year's 2025 NBA draft class.

Reigning National Player of the Year Cooper Flagg is expected to go No. 1 overall to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night, and his Duke teammate Kon Knueppel won't be far behind.

Knueppel is widely considered a top-5 prospect in the upcoming selection process.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Duke basketball program took to social media with a strong message regarding their one-and-done sharpshooter.

"Best shooter in the draft & he does everything well. K2 is an easy early pick," the team wrote on X.

best shooter in the draft & he does everything well

K2 is an easy early pick pic.twitter.com/zK2PzOK9gU
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) June 25, 2025

Knueppel, the ACC Tournament MVP, averaged 14.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game in his freshman season with the Blue Devils. The 19-year-old shooting guard connected on 47.9% of his shots from the field and 40.6% of his attempts from behind the 3-point arc.

"Loved having Kon in our program," Duke coach Jon Scheyer said after Knueppel declared for the draft. "So proud of him and what he did this season. He's a guy that is about competition. He never shied away from the competitive plays that have to be made in order to win at a high level. As a freshman, Kon understood that. He played both sides of the ball. He had big scoring games... I loved the growth that he made and can't wait to see what he's going to do at the next level, with a long, successful NBA career."

The 2025 NBA draft will begin at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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