NBA analyst suggests Hornets have two steals of the draft, but it may be three

By now, we can all confidently say that the Charlotte Hornets aced the draft. Excluding Liam McNeeley, who has at times looked like a future role player, the Hornets landed three players who can and do start. They have a franchise cornerstone in Kon Knueppel, and both Sion James and Ryan Kalkbrenner have been shockingly good.

One NBA analyst said that the Hornets have two of the five biggest steals from draft night. The fact that Liam McNeeley, who felt like a steal then and in Summer League, isn't listed shows how deep the Hornets' rookie class really is.

Bleacher Report's Dan Favale wrote, "[Kalkbrenner] isn't just Charlotte's most-used center. He's third on the team in total minutes. The defense is hovering around league average when he's on the floor... To say the Hornets are getting excellent value out of the No. 34 selection would be a massive understatement."

Oct 26, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Charlotte Hornets center Ryan Kalkbrenner (11) wins the tip off against Washington Wizards center Alex Sarr (20) during the first quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images | Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

About James, he added, "James is proving to be an exhaustive defender capable of guarding up and down the archetypal spectrum... Seldom has the 22-year-old appeared overmatched despite getting baptized by fire. And pairing him with Ryan Kalkbrenner gives the Hornets a defensive pulse."

Clearly, those two are steals, but I'd argue that Knueppel is so far a steal, too. There were legitimate calls for the Hornets to take a bigger swing in the draft by picking Ace Bailey or Tre Johnson fourth overall instead of the safer Knueppel with a higher floor but lower ceiling.

Not only has Knueppel proven the Hornets right, but he might actually be better than we thought. A redraft likely wouldn't change much because there's no world where Cooper Flagg, as rough as he's looked, wouldn't go first, and VJ Edgecombe would still probably go over Knueppel.

However, through nine games, Knueppel looks like a legit stud. He's been one of the best rookies, and he's doing it with a usage rate no one expected. Knueppel was supposed to play third (or fourth) fiddle in a Hornets offense with LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller. Without them, he's stepped up in a big way.

He's shooting the lights out, but he's also rebounding and facilitating. He's not good enough to carry a depleted roster on his own, but if there's one player who has shown up in the absence of Ball and Miller, it's Knueppel. That was not necessarily expected, and it makes him a steal for the Hornets in my book.

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