Kon Knueppel's unfortunate ankle injury opens up major opportunity for Hornets' underrated rookie

There's something in the water up in Greensboro.

The Charlotte Hornets' symbiotic relationship with the Greensboro Swarm has been a developmental boon for some of their intriguing young prospects, and we may be on the precipice of another success story.

Kon Knueppel, Charlotte's standout rookie, has been listed as OUT for Monday night's game against the Milwaukee Bucks. Instead of standing pat with their current options on the wing, Charlotte opted to recall fellow rookie Liam McNeeley from the Greensboro Swarm.

McNeeley's most recent game in Greensboro offered a quick glimpse at what the 6'8" sharpshooter might look like in an expanded role which he may scale into with Knueppel on the sideline. Below are a quartet of clips from the game, a 123-117 victory over the Iowa Wolves, that showcase McNeeley's all-around floor game.

Clip #1: Transition bucket

Although he was billed as an off-ball specialist coming out of high school, Liam McNeeley was forced to play with the ball in his hands as an offensive engine in his lone college season at Connecticut. The uncomfortable role as an undergrad supercharged his development as a ball handler which is already paying dividends at the professional level.

He gets the ball in transition here and is confident enough with it in his hands to attack a retreating defender.

McNeely draws a foul in transition here - a slick handle and spin to get the defender out of position before playing with physicality to get to the line. pic.twitter.com/Q7XbLNSfD3
— Matt Alquiza (@malquiza8) December 29, 2025

McNeeley hesitates and hits a crossover that gets the defender on his heels. He quickly closes the space between them, spins into the lane (a favorite move of the rookie forward), and draws a foul.

He's already proven to be a skilled foul-drawer in the NBA as he's getting fouled on 10% of his shot attempts with the Hornets (58th percentile for wings).

Clip #2: Attacking close outs

This is what McNeeley will be asked to do in Charlotte playing alongside LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, and Miles Bridges who will create looks for him. The Hornets' half court offense usually has the corners filled with shooters that also need to make quick decisions; a role that Liam will fill in Kon's stead.

Nice job attacking a close out here.

A subtle move to his left on the catch and a quick pump fake gives him enough room to drive baseline after squaring the defenders shoulders.

McNeeley attacks the baseline for (another) dunk. pic.twitter.com/K9OxLbADKv
— Matt Alquiza (@malquiza8) December 29, 2025

McNeeley makes a subtle move to his left as he catches the ball that creates an open driving lane down the baseline. He combines the slight relocation with a pump fake to square the defender's shoulders which opens a gap for him to drive to the cup with his stronger right hand.

He finishes with a dunk, one of many in this victory against Iowa.

Clip #3: Two-on-one defense

This clip highlights McNeeley's high level of feel on the defensive end.

Defensive impact from Liam McNeeley here too.

Patiently defends a two-on-one situation after the Swarm blitz a ball screen. pic.twitter.com/OcMCXXNzi0
— Matt Alquiza (@malquiza8) December 29, 2025

Charlotte blitzes the ball screen and Iowa's point guard handles the pressure well, finding his release valve at the free throw line and forcing McNeeley to defend a two-on-one. He steps up to the ball to slow down the MIG (most-important guy, a key piece of terminology in the Hornets' defensive vernacular) and retreats perfectly to pick up the block with his off-hand.

It's an impressive showing of patience, timing, awareness, and athleticism that saves a bucket in a close game. The Hornets' defensive scheme is more conservative than this, playing drop coverage against the majority of screening actions due to the strengths of starting center Ryan Kalkbrenner, but I'm expecting them to switch, hedge, and blitz a little bit more with Moussa Diabate starting while Kalkbrenner nurses an elbow injury.

If that is the case, everyone on the Hornets' will need to be connected on defense (much like they were against Orlando) to slow down opposing attacks.

Clip #4: Short roll scoring

Liam McNeeley does his best Kon Knueppel impression right here.

Look familiar?

Kon Knueppel is one of the league’s most efficient players as a roller, and Liam McNeeley does a reasonable impression of him here.

The Hornets organization runs these guard-guard actions relentlessly and McNeeley converts on one here. pic.twitter.com/8oJERdBjn8
— Matt Alquiza (@malquiza8) December 29, 2025

McNeeley may get asked to operate as a screener in Charlotte's go-to guard-to-guard screening actions in his next action with the Hornets because the Swarm really let him get loose on those sets. Everything that Hornets players have done in Greensboro has been crafted carefully to make sure it translates well to the big leagues, and DJ Bakker's insistence in using McNeeley as a screener may be indicative to how he will be used in Charlotte going forward.

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