Charlotte Hornets were the Ultimate Winners of 2025 NBA Draft

For the better part of their existence, the Charlotte Hornets have been an Eastern Conference bottom-feeder, reaching the playoffs 10 times in their 35 seasons, and just once in the past 10 seasons.

A large portion of this an be accredited to their drafting, which has been perennially poor. Since 2000, the Hornets have drafted just two All-Stars – Kemba Walker and LaMelo Ball. However, as general manager Jeff Peterson enters his second offseason with the franchise, it appears he's helping to turn the corner.

In recent years, a traditional Hornets draftee has been a swing on a raw prospect with high upside, but a presently limited skillset that hinder abilities to contribute to winning – Tidjane Salaun, James Bouknight and Mark Williams. It appears general Peterson has completely switched the organizational mindset for the 2025 cycle, selecting four players who can be immediate positive impacts.

By the end of the 2025 NBA Draft, the Hornets walked away with Kon Knueppel, Liam McNeeley, Sion James and Ryan Kalkbrenner – four home run picks. With these four rookies, the young head coach Charles Lee and a healthy season from Ball and Brandon Miller, the Hornets could make a return to the playoffs for the first time since 2015-2016.

Here's why these four rookie's were A+ picks.

Kon Knueppel - Pick No. 4

The 6-foot-7 wing played alongside No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg and now Hornets teammate Sion James at Duke, and excelled as the Blue Devils second option. Knueppel averaged 14.4 points, 4 rebounds, 2.7 assists per game 47.9 / 40.4 / 91.4 shooting splits – one of two players in any high-major conference to reach those splits on double-digit poitns per game.

Knueppel was the perfect Robin next to Flagg's Batman, performing both as a spacer for his drives, and running an effective two-man game with the forward. Perhaps the most importantly, however, was his ability to step up in Flagg's absence – see the ACC Tournament where Knueppel scored 28, 17 and 18 points en route to a Duke title.

He'll likely start at the two-guard with Charlotte, alongside Ball and Miller, operating as the perfect tertiary creator in a healthy lineup, along with spending time leading a young bench unit.

Liam McNeeley - Pick No. 29

The Hornets obtained this pick through a draft night trade that sent out Mark Williams in return for pick No. 29, and a 2029 first round pick (least favorable of Jazz, Cavaliers and Timberwolves). They used it to select McNeeley, who was viewed as a high-floor prospect, ready to play meaningful NBA minutes on day one of the regular season.

Despite a disappointing season at Connecticut, shooting 31.7 percent from 3-point range, McNeeley's still an elite shooter. In two seasons with Montverde Academy, he shot 45.9 percent and 45 percent from 3-point range, along with shooting 86.6 percent from the free throw line at Connecticut. All signs point towards McNeeley returning back to form as an elite shooter in Charlotte.

He'll be a unique fold to the Hornets lineup, who ranked 28th in 3-point percentage (33.9) and 18th in 3-pointers made (13) per game.

While he likely doesn't have All-Star upside, McNeeley will be a key piece to the Hornets rotation this season – a feat many rookies can't achieve.

Sion James – Pick No. 33

When it comes to point-of-attack defending guards, James has an argument for the best in the 2025 draft class. His 6-foot-4, 217 lbs stocky build comes with a perfect foot-speed and physicality to be a matchup nightmare for opposing guards, similar to Thunder guard Luguentz Dort.

In his five collegiate seasons with Tulane and Duke, James averaged 9.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3 assists and 1.4 steals per game, serving as an ideal connective combo guard for each squad. He also improved his 3-point percentage each season, starting at 28 percent as a freshman and finishing at 41.3 percent as a senior – an impressive career trajectory.

The physical defense and knockdown shooting he would bring to Charlotte would be perfect for spot minutes with both Ball, Tre Mann and obviously his former Duke teammate, Knueppel. The Hornets have severely lacked three-and-D players in recent seasons, but James steps in as a perfect plug-and-play.

Ryan Kalkbrenner – Pick No. 34

In wake of the aforementioned trade that sent Williams to the Suns, the Hornets had a big hole to fill at the center position. Neither Williams or former Hornet Nick Richards were able to become a true defensive anchor for the organization, so it now swings on four time Big East Defensive Player of the Year Ryan Kalkbrenner to become that.

Kalkbrenner had a case as the best defensive center in the class, averaging over 2 blocks per game in his last four collegiate seasons, reaching a high of 3.1 blocks per game in 2023-2024. He was one of four players nationwide to hold a minimum of a 10 box plus-minus and a 7 block percentage, proving his worth as an anchor.

His offensive game has sneaky versatility too it as well as a roller, lob catcher, paint finisher and spot-up shooter, similar to Kristaps Porzingis. He'll compete for the starting center job right away with Jusuf Nurkic and Moussa Diabate, and will likely end up the team's starter by the trade deadline.