Is Kon Knueppel the third best prospect in the 2025 NBA draft class?

Cooper Flagg was the more heralded of the duo that powered Duke to the 2025 Final Four. But, Kon Knueppel shouldn't fall far behind. Knueppel's rank in this class is the subject of debate as the draft draws nearer. Should the 6-foot-5 Milwaukee native be a serious candidate for the Sixers at the third overall selection?

 Here's what you need to know about the 19-year-old.

Strengths

• Flirted with 48-percent/41-percent/91-percent shooting splits as a freshman. Exceptionally strong shooter at the collegiate level. Knueppel shot very well off the catch, off the dribble, off movement and off screens. His shooting mechanics are very consistent across contexts and look effortless.
• Moves off the ball very well. Knows how and when to use a variety of screening actions and how to leverage his own screening into open shots for himself.
• Makes up for lack of athleticism in multiple ways. First, he is quick to make decisions. The ball doesn't stick in his hands. He weaponizes his advantages by making quick passing reads and shooting without hesitation. Second, he is remarkably disciplined in playing off two feet. His footwork off the dribble is strong, he likes to reverse pivot in the paint when he has a defender leaning to create space. If he gets stopped in the middle of his dribble, he balances himself on two feet and makes decisions from there. Rarely loses control. Despite lacking explosion at the rim, counters contact by finishing strong off two feet.
• Better passer than his 2.7 assists per game at Duke suggest. Adept at leveraging extra attention to execute passes on the move. Beats blitzes consistently by finding the roller.
• Wins hustle plays. Will get on the floor for loose balls, will chase long rebounds out of bounds to try to save the ball. Scrappy, competitive and tough.
• Had a strong NCAA tournament. Was Duke's leading scorer or second-leading scorer to Flagg in three of five games.
• Legitimate size for an NBA wing and, more specifically, a shooting guard. No questions about matching his skills with a position at the expense of size.

Weaknesses

• His defensive effort is genuine. His awareness sometimes gets masked by his looking overmatched. But, by and large, he's a walking target on that end of the floor. There are instances of good contests and rotations. He's a fine team defender. But, Knueppel does not have the foot speed to stay in front of matchups on the ball consistently. He gets dislodged by screens, forcing switch-heavy schemes.
• The lack of athleticism makes it difficult for him to clear defenders off the dribble and create space. He's not explosive enough to maintain advantages off the bounce.
• Not a significant sample size of shots from NBA three-point territory, so it's fair to wonder whether he has that range at this juncture.

The film

Knueppel and Tre Johnson are probably the two best shooters in the class. But, Knueppel separates himself by being a constant mover without the basketball. The disconnect he creates just by moving manufactures great looks for Knueppel. There's not a lot of standing and watching as Flagg and others govern possessions:

The diversity of his movements feels mature for his age. He shot off ghost and slipped ball screens for Flagg. Knueppel ran off Iverson actions to catch and shoot off movement. He can fake cuts from one side of the floor to the paint, fake a screen to create a little bit of chaos and pop out on the other side of the floor in search of an open three.

When Knueppel is moving along one side of the floor, he keeps his hands up and his palms out, anticipating the ball. He shuffles from spot to spot to keep his shoulders squared to the rim when he can. The brilliance of it is that Knueppel knows he creates a level of threat and panic just by being on the floor. He doesn't ever have to touch the ball to be a weapon. He's such a good shooter that he merely had to sell that he was prepared to fire away at any moment to add an element to Duke's offense.

As good a shooter as Knueppel is, we had more clips of his passing than we did of his shooting:

Knueppel isn't manufacturing advantages with advanced dribbling or quick-twitch movements that get defenders off balance. It's more fundamental than that. He's keeping his head up, using his shooting threat to open the floor for others and make quick decisions. You blitz him out of a pick-and-roll, he's finding the roller in space, setting up the shot or the domino effect that creates the shot one or two more passes down the line. You lose him for a fraction of a second on a pin-down, he's curling into the ball like a shooter and making the pass to his screener on the roll. His chemistry with Khaman Maluach was nearly pristine by the end of their time at Duke. It should inspire confidence in what he can do in a two-man game with a lob threat such as, say, Adem Bona.

One of Knueppel's distinguishing traits is his discipline in playing off two feet. It helps him make sound decisions in traffic and finish through physicality at the rim:

Not only is it simply good fundamentals. It's how deficient athletes have to play to be effective at the NBA level. If you can't jump that high, you shouldn't be leaving the floor to make passes or attempt complex shots. If you're not that fast, you shouldn't be trying to win foot races. Knueppel's ability to play off two feet does more than keep him balanced in spots where it's easy to lose balance. It makes it nearly impossible for him to run himself out of control. If you come to a jump stop, the only thing left to do is pivot. You're playing with a strong base, giving you leverage against handsy, swarming defenders.

Even with sufficient evidence that Knueppel is more likely to cede advantages than he is to expand them due to the lacking athleticism and explosion, he does have some ability to create off the dribble:

It's not much. But, Knueppel can freeze a rotating defense with a quick hesitation dribble or reverse-pivot into a shot at the rim when a defender leans too much in one direction.

As polished as his offensive game is, the lack of athleticism really hurts him on defense:

Knueppel deserves some credit for staying aware off the ball. He doesn't completely mail that side of the floor in. But there are a lot of times in which he just looks out of his depth. You almost feel like you're watching the game at one speed and Knueppel is operating at another speed. The foot speed and reaction time really show when he's tasked with guarding in isolation. Duke was able to mitigate some of the issue by going heavy on switch schemes. Even still, there's ample evidence of Knueppel getting roasted in space. He gives up driving lanes, he struggles to stay in front of the ball. Knueppel gets stuck on screens too easily, conceding open pull-up threes. He's late to contest in certain coverages, and his footwork sometimes gives shifty shooters open looks a few dribbles after the switch.

Having said all of that, there is something to be said for his competitive spirit. He is not above diving in mud or putting his body at risk:

Diving for a loose ball up 15 points is something you do when you have a competitive bite. Fighting with bigger opponents for rebounds, winning the 50/50 balls, getting on the floor to secure the rock regardless of whether the game is hanging in the balance, those are winning tendencies. That makes up for the defensive concerns a little bit.

Questions

There are a couple. First, despite his height and wingspan, he's a bright red target for opposing offenses. How long will it take him to find ways to mitigate that, if he can at all? Getting stronger will help. Can he add that mass without hindering his offensive game and in time to be a significant net positive for his team?

Second, how does he create advantages without foot speed and athleticism? If he can't, can he become a legitimate franchise cornerstone?

Shades of

There's some Jimmy Butler and Luka Doncic in the way he plays off two feet. Some Jalen Brunson in the way he pivots seamlessly in the paint and stops short of the rim on two feet so that he can draw contact. Less athletic, pre-injuries Klay Thompson in the shooting prowess. A better passing and shooting version of what Austin Reaves has been, on average, throughout his career. A smaller, more dynamic Nico Batum. Comparing college statistics, Knueppel is a better shooting Tyler Herro. The one I find to be the most complete is one that was suggested to me by two other people: Desmond Bane.

Fit with Sixers

It's not hand-in-glove by any stretch. While Philadelphia needs more wing types, they need more athletes, too. They also need more players with dribble-pass-shoot equity. In the end, they need the best player available. And there are fewer concerns with Knueppel than there are with any of Ace Bailey, VJ Edgecombe and Tre Johnson. In fact, I'd rather comfortably put Knueppel in a tier closer to Dylan Harper than in one closer to those other three guys.