‘It’ll work perfectly.’ Charlotte Hornets fans have big dreams for Kon Knueppel
Ten minutes after the Charlotte Hornets made a huge decision on a consequential night, Ian Brown saw so much flash before him.
The 20-year-old Hornets fan saw hope. He saw possibility. He saw a winning record in 2025-26, he said, with the possibility for a “sneaky playoff run” if the team “gets another piece in free agency.” He saw “a good start,” someone who can help LaMelo Ball soar. He used words like “happy” and “electric” and “a young player who’s going to change this franchise for the better.”
In short, in the mere minutes after the Hornets took Kon Knueppel with the fourth pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, Brown saw exactly what he needed to see — even if all of it was still in his head and not yet in front of his eyes.
“It’ll work perfectly,” Brown predicted with a big smile. “Because with LaMelo’s handle, he’s going to create space, he’s going to create open opportunities. … We just need to knock those shots down. And Kon Knueppel has that ability — with his hesi, his bag — to get open by himself too. Especially if …”
He went on.
And in the rush of Wednesday night, a lot of people felt similarly passionate about the Hornets’ decision — and had the accompanying hopes for a future worth talking about.
The biggest rush of Hornets-centric excitement Wednesday came at The Casey by Beau Monde, a venue in Charlotte the Hornets took over for their official draft party. The event was sold out to the tune of 3,000 people — approximately 2,700 of which were general admission, organizers said.
And the general admission folks saw a slice of the most resilient fans in Charlotte: There was representation of the LaMelo Ball generation and the Kemba Walker generation and the Muggsy Bogues generation. There were fathers putting their sons on their shoulders so they could see the projector. There were middle schoolers who had Ace Bailey as their background on their Apple watches and newly married couples checking in with their group chats about who the Hornets should take.
Somehow, after a 19-63 season, there was excitement.
And opinions. Lots of them.
Kon is ‘a good connector’
The good news?
Most of the opinions were positive about Knueppel, the 6-foot-7, 217-pound, 19-year-old prospect from Milwaukee. His lone season at Duke yielded 14.4 points, 4 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game and helped propel the Blue Devils to a Final Four appearance.
“I thought the reaction was about what I expected,” said Josh Fox, who bought season tickets the moment he and his wife, Dre, moved to Charlotte in 2022. He wore a Kemba Walker UConn jersey and a big smile. “It’s positive, obviously. We’re getting a good shooter. Someone who can play. I think a lot of people wanted VJ Edgecombe (overall No. 3 pick), which, that is what it is, that’s how the cookie crumbles. But I thought overall it was pretty positive.”
Dre agreed, adding of the atmosphere: “It’s also just really fun to be here with everybody. And experiencing the excitement and all of the stuff that they had available to us today. It just added to the whole experience.”
There were couples and families and groups of friends, all blended together by teal. Several Brandon Miller jerseys. Some Dell Curry jerseys. Some LaMelo Ball current jerseys (#1) and some rookie LaMelo Ball jerseys (#2).
Adam Hicks was one who wore a throwback jersey. Which makes sense. The Hickory native and lifelong fan still remembers the excitement of going to see games in the old coliseum off Tyvola Road with his father; the sadness the then-high schooler felt when the Hornets moved away; the joy when they came back and embraced their past.
On Wednesday, Hicks was a dad watching the draft with his wife and trying to pass his fandom to his kids.
“I think the front office believes that LaMelo and Brandon (Miller) are All-Star caliber — well, LaMelo is for sure, but if they think Brandon is All-Star caliber as well — he connects them,” Hicks said. “He’s a good connector. He may not have the upside that some of the other guys did, like Ace (Bailey) or Tre (Johnson), but he’s a good ballplayer too. He kind of does it all. Like I said, if they’re confident that Melo and Brandon are the dudes, I like the pick.”
His kids did, too. Addison, in sixth grade, and Grayson, in fourth, said they enjoyed themselves so much they wanted to return to the draft party the next year. Also? Grayson got stung by what he thought was a hornet before walking into the party. He brandished the sting like a champion, as tough fourth-graders do, and smiled.
His dad laughed: “Pretty good omen, isn’t it?”
Hoping for Brandon Miller 2.0
Everyone certainly hopes so. Even if they’re North Carolina Tar Heel fans.
“Well, I’m a Carolina fan, so obviously it is going to be a little bit of an adjustment,” said Steve Kwon, who wore a Dell Curry jersey. He then laughed and shrugged. “But he did kick our ass last year. And I watched him perform against us. So I think he could be a good pick. Obviously he has a lot of good basketball IQ. He’s a great shooter. So very open minded.”
His wife, Brigitte Acosta-Kwon, agreed. She called herself a casual sports fan, but after Wednesday night — and some encouraging analysis from a friend group chat — “I’m willing to learn more about the team, and I like most of the players on the team already.”
Other opinions swam around Wednesday night. And that was particularly true about 30 minutes after the Hornets’ selection of Knueppel. After all, the team opted to trade Mark Williams for an additional first-round pick Wednesday (No. 29 overall) as well as a 2029 first-rounder. The Hornets selected Liam McNeeley with the No. 29 pick.
But for Knueppel, and the Hornets, there were ideas for a better future. Lots of them.
There was also a willingness to not jump to hasty conclusions.
“I think people were like, ‘Maybe I shouldn’t rush to judgment about these prospects, especially after the Brandon Miller pick,’” Steve Kwon said, when asked about his perceived vibe of the crowd. “Because I was there (in 2023), and everyone hated that pick. But obviously that was one of our best decisions.”
So it’ll take time to see who Knueppel will truly be, beyond the hoopla and hope of Wednesday.
But in the words of Ian Brown:
“I still think we need a little more rebuilding,” he said. “But this is a good start.”
This story was originally published June 26, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
