Charlotte Hornets players were invested in what the organization was going to do with its picks in the 2025 NBA Draft. Players like LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller and Miles Bridges hung around to watch prospects in their individual workouts and even offered their own input at times.
It wasn’t long after he was taken 29th overall on Wednesday that UConn’s Liam McNeeley heard from his new teammates.
“NBA players were texting me… I still feel like a kid so that’s pretty cool,” McNeeley, 19, said Friday as he was officially introduced at a press conference in Charlotte.
McNeeley was one of four players Charlotte brought in through the draft as it tries to create a fresh culture in the midst of the NBA’s longest active playoff drought, with only one winning season since its last playoff berth in 2016. The Hornets took Kon Knueppel with their fourth overall pick and had two selections in the second round, including another Duke star, Sion James, and Creighton big man Ryan Kalkbrenner.
The former Big East rivals were asked to describe each other’s game, and both were happy to now be teammates.
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“High-level scorer, found that out in Omaha when he dropped 40 on us so it’ll be good to be on the same side of that this time,” Kalkbrenner said. “But yeah, high-level competitor, high-level scorer, it’s gonna be a lot of fun being on the same team as him.”
The Hornets are entering their second season with Charles Lee, a former Boston Celtics assistant, as head coach and Jeff Peterson as president of basketball operations. UConn legend and Charlotte’s all-time leading scorer, Kemba Walker, was brought back as a player enhancement coach in October and had a hand in the pre-draft process.
McNeeley drew laughs, especially from Lee, when he noted how playing for UConn coach Dan Hurley opened him up to a “real intense coach” and will serve him well throughout his NBA career.
“The biggest thing that they’re going to add to our group immediately is competitiveness, the hard work and understanding that nothing’s going to be given to them from day one, that they’re going to have to earn it, that they’re going to have to work hard. But they’re committed to that,” Lee said. “And the other part that I think that they’re going to bring is just a another level of togetherness and a commitment to sacrificing whatever is needed to help the team win and help the team continue to move forward.”
His competitiveness, as Kalkbrenner knows, is obvious, but McNeeley showed his willingness to sacrifice while he was at UConn as he returned quickly from a high-ankle sprain in the middle of the season and took on significant responsibility outside of his comfort zone. His efficiency numbers, and probably his draft stock, took a hit, but it was necessary for the Huskies to win games.
“These guys are winners,” Peterson said of his four picks. “It was a huge part of the equation in wanting to draft them. Whether it was in high school or college, they all have a ton of accolades but winning is the priority for them. They hate losing more than they want to win, which is what we want to be about.”
The Hornets are still in the building phase, but they have young players like Ball, Miller and Bridges who are hoping to lead the charge in turning things around. As Hurley pointed out after the draft, there should be plenty of opportunity for McNeeley to make his mark.
“It’s a really young team and everybody’s been so welcoming,” McNeeley said. “It just brings a familiarity to the group and like a sense of team connectedness. But yeah, I’m super bought in and ready to give everything I have to this program.”
Fans will have their first chance to see him in his new No. 33 uniform when the Hornets begin Summer League at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas against the Utah Jazz on July 11 (7 p.m. ESPN). They are scheduled to play the Philadelphia 76ers on July 12 before McNeeley will likely see his former high school teammate Cooper Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks on July 14. He could meet up with reigning Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle as the Hornets wrap up Summer League with the Spurs on July 17.
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