2025 NBA Draft: Charlotte Hornets specific big board 1.0

This has been far from a December to remember for the Charlotte Hornets. A once promising season has devolved into yet another campaign bound for a top ten pick, leaving fans dreaming about high-upside prospects and dancing lottery balls as the holiday season winds down. Charlotte has lost six straight and 14 of their last 15 after another upset loss to the Wizards in D.C.

With that in mind, it's time to hurtle full steam ahead towards the 2025 NBA Draft. If Charlotte finishes in the lottery (a likely destination based on recent trends), they will retain the first-round pick they owe to San Antonio. For the purposes of this big board, we'll assume that Charlotte will own a premium draft pick, so we'll name a handful of top 2025 NBA Draft prospects to watch as conference season begins in earnest at the beginning of the new year.

Tier One: Franchise Faces

1. Cooper Flagg - Forward, Duke
2A. Ace Bailey - Forward, Rutgers
2B. Dylan Harper - Guard, Rutgers

If the Hornets land a top three pick there is no scenario in which they could go wrong on draft night. Each of these three players has limitless potential that can raise both the floor and the ceiling of Charlotte's current core.

Flagg sits at the top of the bunch. The Duke product will come into the league as one of the most NBA-ready prospects in recent memory as the bread of his prospect profile is buttered on the defensive end. Cooper Flagg projects as a high-level, multi-positional defender from the moment he touches an NBA court. His elite combination of size, smarts, and athleticism is well beyond his years, giving him a floor as a prospect that is much higher than most 18-year-olds.

The Rutgers pair, Bailey and Harper, are a pair of offensive dynamos.

Bailey is a 6'9" bucket-getting wing that can score in a myriad of ways. He's adept at getting to his spots and finishing through contact with flexible body contortions that baffle opposing defenses. Ace struggles at creating separation from defenders off the bounce, but some time in an NBA program will upgrade his dribble packages in order to accentuate his ridiculous natural gifting.

Both Flagg and Bailey would slide in perfectly to the Hornets core nucleus. Either player would be a long-term upgrade over Miles Bridges or Josh Green, and they would both be expected to play a large role in Charlotte as rookies.

Harper on the other hand is a bit of an awkward fit in-between LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller in the Hornets back court. I believe he's more talented than Bailey, but the fit has some question marks. I'll listen to arguments about drafting best player available over fit, which is why I have them as 2A and 2B on the board.

Dylan Harper has been a one-man wrecking crew at times for Rutgers. His driving ability marries a shooting touch and playmaking sense in a polygamous relationship that coalesces into one of the best point guard prospects in modern draft history. Watch one game of Dylan Harper in Big Ten conference play and you'll be bought in almost immediately. He plays an aesthetically pleasing game that is as effective as it is pretty.

Tier Two: High-upside play-making wings

4. Tre Johnson - Wing, Texas
5. V.J. Edgecombe - Wing, Baylor
6. Egor Demin - Guard/Wing - BYU
7. Kon Knueppel - Wing, Duke

Charlotte can't go wrong with any of these four. Each of them bring a high-level trait worth gambling on. Johnson: shooting; Edgecombe: athleticism; Demin: passing; Knueppel: all-around offense.

We'll dive more into each of these prospects as the draft nears and the lottery order crystallizes, but a pick in this range will still allow the Hornets to add a great prospect to their developing core.

Tier Three: High-end consolation prizes

8. Kaspras Jakucionis - Guard, Illinois
9. Derik Queen - Center, Mayland
10. Asa Newell - Forward/Center, Georgia
11. Nolan Traore - Guard France

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