Charlotte Hornets NBA Draft Big Board 3.0: Pre-lottery edition

With the lottery just over a week away, it's time to update the Charlotte Hornets' NBA Draft big board.

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In nine days the Charlotte Hornets will learn their NBA Draft fate. The 2025 NBA Draft lottery has become the single most important date on the calendar for Charlotte, the Utah Jazz, the Washington Wizards, and the other 11 teams hoping that the ping pong balls will fall in place for them to draft Cooper Flagg, the can't miss, number one overall with a bullet, prospect from Duke University.

Charlotte owns a 14% chance to land Flagg with the first pick, giving them an 86% chance to wind up somewhere else between 2-7 in the draft order. This big board, my third update of the cycle (version one and version two can be found here) will detail my top seven prospects in the draft, covering the range that the Hornets can pick in.

Charlotte Hornets' 2025 NBA Draft Big Board

1. Cooper Flagg - Forward - Duke

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When Flagg walked off the floor of the Alamodome with his head down after the Duke Blue Devils were upset by the Houston Cougars in the Final Four, he could have waltzed straight to the podium of the NBA Draft where he will be selected at number one overall.

Flagg is arguably a top five draft prospect of the century, fighting for a spot behind LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Victor Wembanyama, and for good reason. His polished offensive game and First-Team All-Defense upside are carried by his dogged persona that NBA decision-makers have fallen in love with. It's an easy choice at number one.

2. Dylan Harper - Point Guard - Rutgers

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I firmly believe that Harper is in a tier of his own behind Cooper Flagg. The dynamic shot-creator is the perfect lead guard in the modern NBA due to his size (6'6"), ability to pressure the rim (Harper shot 70% at the rim as a freshman at Rutgers), projectable three-point shot, and dazzling assist/turnover ratio.

Questions will abound about his fit alongside LaMelo Ball, but as we've seen in Boston, NBA teams can't have enough high-level jumbo offensive engines, and a trio of Ball, Harper, and Brandon Miller on the perimeter would give opposing defense nightmares due to their idealistic blend of handle and shooting touch.

3. VJ Edgecombe - Guard/Forward - Baylor

4. Kon Knueppel - Guard/Forward - Duke

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Edgecombe and Knueppel are both high-floor prospects that bring a ton of skill to the table but on opposite ends of the floor.

Edgecombe projects as a switchable defensive dynamo that would guard opposing primary options on the wing. Although he's a bit undersized to play the small forward position, Edgecombe is a breathtaking athletic specimen that doesn't back down from anyone.

On the other hand, Knueppel is a knock down shooter that showed real juice as a playmaker as Duke romped through the ACC. He'll walk into the NBA as a high-level floor spacer on day one that will affect winning basketball with his shooting gravity and secondary playmaking.

If the Hornets stick at number three in the draft order, their current position, they can't go wrong with either of these prospects.

5. Collin Murray-Boyles - Forward/Center - South Carolina

6. Ace Bailey - Forward - Rutgers

7. Tre Johnson - Guard - Texas

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Tre Johnson is the most recent addition to the big board.

The flame-throwing Texas Longhorn has been receiving a ton of buzz ahead of the NBA Draft Combine from analysts that I trust, and I've personally come around on his potential as a professional bucket-getter. Sam Vecenie of The Athletic had this to say about Johnson:

"He had one of the best shooting workouts I’ve ever seen from a teenage player, showcasing a serious-minded intentionality about how he goes about his craft. He displayed the ability to hit shots off movement at a high level, something that he rarely got the chance to do in an offensive scheme at Texas that could be charitably described as anachronistic but fairly described as hideously archaic."

The context around Johnson at Texas was abysmal, signified by the Longhorns firing Rodney Terry as soon as the buzzer sounded on their season. Despite that, Johnson showed an uncanny ability to knock down tough shots off the dribble and off the catch during a dazzling season in the country's toughest conference.

Will Johnson ever be a primary ball handler in the NBA? Doubtful. But his ridiculous ability to knock down long-range jumpers from anywhere in the gym is only rivaled by Kon Knueppel in this class. With some seasoning, Johnson may have the highest-end offensive ceiling in this class, and because of that, he has to be in the top seven here.

On the outside looking in

8. Derik Queen - Center - Maryland

9. Jeremiah Fears - Guard - Oklahoma

10. Kasparas Jakučionis - Guard - Illinois

11. Khaman Maluach - Center - Duke

12. Nique Clifford - Guard/Forward - Colorado State

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