We’re Witnessing An All-Time Draft Class in Charlotte

Let’s not mince words about it:

The 2025 Charlotte Hornets draft class, headlined by guards Kon Knueppel and Sion James, C Ryan Kalkbrenner, and G Liam McNeeley, is the single-best draft class Charlotte has ever had.

Larry Johnson. Alonzo Mourning. Brandon Miller. LaMelo Ball. All from elite Hornets’ drafts in their own right. Yet, each was the only Hornets’ headline of their respective drafts.

Knueppel, had he been the only pick made, has already worked himself into that echelon in a mere 50 games played.

He wasn’t the only pick made, though.

Charlotte also found arguably its best perimeter defender in James, as a rookie— only challenged currently for that spot by Miller, who has played the best basketball of his career on both ends of the floor for the Hornets in January.

Kalkbrenner himself would be a headline of most draft classes for Charlotte any other year— his Eric Collins’ deemed “Venus Fly Trap hands” have been a perfect fit in the screen and roll game with LaMelo Ball, and he’s provided an extra dose of rebounding outside of C Moussa Diabaté that was desperately needed by head coach Charles Lee.

Charlotte’s fourth-best draftee in McNeeley fits the mold of what most past Hornets’ BEST draftee selections resemble. A player still needing development, but one who clearly has the potential basketball IQ to eventually be a well-rounded second unit role player who hits threes and passes the ball on a good NBA team.

The fact the Hornets have three of four drafted players making such large impacts as rookies puts 2025 among Charlotte’s best ever draft classes by any historical measure you choose.

Tie in the fact that these three rookies have played more minutes and been more impactful to winning than any other group of Hornets’ newbies to don the purple and teal? Yeah. Now we’re cooking with bacon grease.

I texted one Walker Mehl of Charlotte’s WFNZ radio and Locked On Hornets in the Hornets’ FOURTH game versus Miami on the road, and said the following:

“Despite a 19-3 (Heat) ending to the half and only 3.5 games played— is it dramatic to say this could easily be the Hornets best draft class…ever?”

That was over three months ago. That take felt uncontroversial then, in just the team’s fourth game. Now, it feels less like a debate and more like something the season has quietly confirmed.

2025 being penciled in as the franchise’s best draft class of all time doesn’t come from Knueppel alone, or even from the almost 50-40-90 shooting splits he’s flirting with as a rookie.

It comes from the collective mentality these four rookies brought with them the moment they arrived, starting in Vegas and carrying straight through to the regular season. The Vegas Summer League title wasn’t some cute footnote:

It was a preview of how seriously this group takes winning, preparation, and accountability.

For years, Charlotte’s drafts have felt like isolated bets— one guy, usually, to pin your hopes on. One name to circle and wait for.

This class feels different because it arrived as a unit. Knueppel’s poise. James’ defensive edge. Kalkbrenner’s physicality and role acceptance. McNeeley’s feel for spacing and decision-making, even through some occasional mistakes. None of it feels accidental, and none of it feels rushed.

These rookies didn’t show up waiting for permission to contribute, they showed up expecting to.

These players didn’t just fill minutes... they stabilized starting and bench rotations and made clunky lineups more functional than last year. They allowed Charlotte to survive stretches that would have buried previous Hornets teams.

This class doesn’t flash like past headliners, but it raised the floor of this Hornets team immediately in game one. Winning minutes for coach Lee are no longer reserved for strictly veterans, but instead they’re coming from rookies who already understand what the team is trying, and wants, to be and become.

Charlotte has drafted stars before. It has never drafted a foundation like this. That’s why this isn’t a hot take anymore: It’s a recognition of what we’re watching in real time.

This class didn’t just change the future. It changed the outlook of the present moment, too… and that’s something this franchise hasn’t ever seen at the level 2025’s group is accomplishing in real-time.

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