While the Charlotte Hornets are off to a 3-6 start this season, it’s clear the future is bright, and arguably no team had a better 2025 NBA Draft.
Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale named Charlotte center Ryan Kalkbrenner and guard Sion James as two of his five steals from the draft. Both were selected in the second round and are making major contributions for the Hornets through their first nine games.
Charlotte also selected Kon Knueppel with the No. 4 overall pick, and the former Duke standout has been as good as advertised, averaging 16.4 points per game and shooting 40.5 % from three.
With Lamelo Ball, Brandon Miller and Josh Green all injured, these Hornets rookies are getting more minutes than originally expected and are making the most of them. It’s been a long time since Charlotte was a competitive team, but it seems to have the makings of a solid, young core that fans can get excited about.
Charlotte Hornets Aced 2025 NBA Draft
The Hornets may have had the best draft in 2025 based on the value they’ve received from their selections, according to Favale.
The Hornets picked James at No. 33 overall, and the athletic guard has shown starter-level ability on defense. He’s proven to be a Swiss Army knife for Charlotte who can lock down some of the most talented scorers in the league.
“James is proving to be an exhaustive defender capable of guarding up and down the archetypal spectrum,” Favale wrote. “Standing 6’5″, he has defended everyone from VJ Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey to bigger forwards like Franz Wagner and Lauri Markkanen.”
Charlotte selected Kalkbrenner one pick after James at No. 34 overall and has gotten similar defensive production. This was the big man’s calling card as a prospect, as he was named the Big East Defensive Player of the Year four times at Creighton. However, his offensive production so far, especially on the interior, is making Kalkrenner the steal of the draft.
“For a while, it looked like Kalkbrenner might never miss on the offensive end,” Favale wrote. “The misses eventually came, but he’s still shooting over 81 percent from the floor—including 86 percent inside the restricted area, from where the overwhelming majority of his looks come.”
Rookies Are Playing Big Minutes
Knueppel was thrust into a starting role right away and is playing like an All-Star. He’s been on a tear in his last three games and scored 30 points for the first time in his career against the Miami Heat on November 7. Knueppel has also been lethal from beyond the arc, setting the NBA record for most three-point makes (16) through four career games. While Edgecombe and Cooper Flagg remain the Rookie of the Year favorites, Knueppel is a dark horse candidate for the award if he keeps this up.
Kalkbrenner and James have joined the franchise building block in the starting lineup (thanks to injuries to Ball, Miller and Green) and have looked just as impressive. If this nucleus continues to gel, the Hornets could be a scary team in a couple of years.
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