Apr 4, 2025; San Antonio, TX, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Kon Knueppel (7) during a practice session for the Final Four of the 2025 NCAA tournament at Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Kon Knueppel pro comps: Who exactly did the Hornets draft?

Originally posted on Charlotte Hornets on SI
By Zach Roberts | Last updated Jul 7, 2025 11:50 AM ET

Kon Knueppel shot up draft boards late in the college basketball season and into the ACC and NCAA Tournaments. His play, particularly while Cooper Flagg was sidelined, impressed, and his traits made him pretty desirable in the lottery. The Charlotte Hornets decided to pick him fourth. Who exactly are they getting? The Ringer's J. Kyle Mann listed four pro comps for the Duke Blue Devil.

Ironically, the biggest pro comparison for Knueppel is, according to Mann, Gordon Hayward. But don't think of Hornets Hayward, as he was past his prime and dealing with tons of injuries and lingering effects of old ailments during his tenure. His Utah Jazz days are the comparison, where Hayward was an all-around threat on offense and a really solid shooter.

Another good comparison is Wally Sczerbiak, a player who had a career effective field goal percentage of 52.6% and shot 40.6% from three across 10 seasons. Sure, that type of player might be uninspiring at the fourth overall pick, but it's someone any good NBA team will have.

Two other comparisons were given. First, Luke Kennard, another former Duke sharpshooter that might've made a nice addition to the Hornets in free agency. Second, Evan Fournier. It's clear that scouts believe Knueppel will fit into a certain NBA mold, and that's totally fine, because that's what the Hornets wanted to get.

Danny Chau added in the report on Knueppel, "There are conditional players in every draft—players who need the knobs tweaked just right so that they can thrive. That ain’t Knueppel. He’s a universal donor. The Duke wing fits everywhere because (not unlike his Duke running mate who went first overall) his greatest strength—in this case, shooting the basketball—is amplified by his other traits."

Knueppel does a little bit of everything. He isn't a "ball-pounding problem solver" who runs the offense right now, and his pick-and-roll load was fairly limited, but Chau said that when Duke got him a down screen, they usually had a good possession.

"There are still a ton more questions to answer in Charlotte, but if you assume they rock with what they have (namely, Brandon Miller and LaMelo Ball) for a bit longer, it now has a triumvirate of movement shooting and varying degrees of playmaking ability," he added.

Because of his size, Knueppel has the ability to grow and evolve into much more than just a floor-spacer, but the Hornets took him because of his ability to do just that. Anything else might just be the cherry on top.