The Charlotte Hornets are undoubtedly reaping the benefits of drafting Kon Kneuppel with the No. 4 pick, with the 20-year-old having sneaked into the Rookie of the Year race alongside Cooper Flagg. However, that seems to be a result of a marked change in direction behind the scenes, with the 2024 appointment of Patrick Harrel as Vice President of Basketball Insights & Analysis especially resulting in the integration of Artificial Intelligence in the team’s scouting mechanisms.
Per SportCLT’s Dylan Jackson, the Hornets were interested in acquiring Reed Sheppard in the 2024 draft, but ended up moving for Knueppel a year later, instead. The decision was at least partly influenced by an “AI draft strategy” a company called Invisible Technologies provided them with.
“The commercial impact was almost immediate, says Patrick Harrel, VP of Basketball Insights & Analysis at the Charlotte Hornets. ‘Within weeks, Invisible provided us with an AI draft strategy that gifted us Kon Knueppel, the #4 overall pick by the Charlotte Hornets in the 2025 NBA draft,” Jackson wrote.
The early validation came during Summer League, where Knueppel scored 21 points in the championship game and earned Final MVP honors while leading Charlotte to its first Summer League title with a victory over the Sacramento Kings. Of course, Knueppel’s rookie campaign has reinforced the promise.
The 20-year-old guard is averaging 19.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game while shooting an efficient 48.7% from the field, 43.5% from three-point range, and 89.1% from the free-throw line. He currently leads the NBA with 198 made three-pointers, having already emerged as Flagg’s biggest rival for the Rookie of the Year award, with many claiming that it is the Hornets man who should be seen as the favorite.
Regardless, fans will instead be hopeful of a potential postseason, with the Hornets currently 10th in the East with a 27-31 record. That is already a stark improvement on the 19-63 record they finished with last season, even if playoff qualification is still dicy.
