Charles Lee amped up after the Hornets' selection of Kon Knueppel

Originally posted on Charlotte Hornets on SI
By Ashley Stroehlein | Last updated Jun 25, 2025 11:47 PM ET

Shortly after the Charlotte Hornets selected Duke's Kon Knueppel with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2025 draft head coach Charless Lee joined the team's draft party to share his excitement over the latest member of his team.

“He’s an amazing human being," Lee said. "He fits our culture that we continue to build here. A lot of times on our team, we talk about consistent competitors, we talk about being obsessed with daily improvement and that's what Kon’s about.”

Hornets head coach Charles Lee on the Hornets drafting Kon Knueppel: “He’s an amazing human being. He fits our culture that we continue to build here. A lot of times on our team, we talk about consistent competitors, we talk about being obsessed with daily improvement and that's… pic.twitter.com/42nBYE9Te5
— Ashley Stroehlein (@ashstro) June 26, 2025

Knueppel's decision to play collegiate basketball at Duke was another thing that stood out to Lee: "He took on the challenge to want to go to Duke and be on the biggest stage and play in some of the biggest pressure situations."

back in NC #NBADraft | @Kon2Knueppel pic.twitter.com/FA3ALSOyxB
— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) June 26, 2025

From his shooting ability to his basketball knowledge, Lee is hoping Knueppel is able to greatly impact the team and bring instant competition. "He just carries himself so well. I'm looking forward to having him compete with our team, looking forward to seeing him shoot. I think he brings instant spacing to our team. He's one of the best shooters in the draft, one of the highest basketball IQ guys and one of the best competieors too. We're really looking forward for a lot of reasons," Lee explained.