We've arrived at the 2025 NBA draft.
Teams now have at least a full season's worth of tape, the combine, and several private workouts to help them sort through the prospects and determine their ultimate big board.
There can still be plenty of jostling until the final hour, but, for the most part, the franchises and their top shot-callers should have their favorite prospects decided by now.
One player who’s been a steady riser throughout the NCAA season and the pre-draft process has been former Duke wing Kon Knueppel.
Coming into his freshman year with the Blue Devils, he was seen as more of a specialist who could space the floor for Cooper Flagg, Tyrese Proctor, and Duke's other playmakers.
It didn't take long for Knueppel to show the world that he was much more than just a spot-up shooter, though.
His vision and rim pressure are two areas where he surprised scouts and analysts. Part of what made Duke so lethal in this past season was how versatile their attack could be, in large part due to Knueppel's unexpectedly vast skillset.
When he wasn't knocking down open triples at an elite clip, he was running pick-and-rolls with Flagg and Khaman Maluach or finding cutters and shooters as a secondary ball-handler.
His offense was so impressive at Duke that many scouts believe that Knueppel could actually scale up his usage and further diversify his tool bag at the next level.
Unfortunately, a lot of his staunchest believers are overlooking a very important part of prospect evaluation in the NBA: athleticism.
Knueppel’s athletic limitations can’t be ignored
With the Blue Devils, Knueppel showed few weaknesses, but the sparse limitations that were put on display all stemmed from his limited physical abilities.
On defense, he struggled to guard in space, especially against quicker ball-handlers on the perimeter. With elite help behind him in Flagg and Maluach, his defensive shortcomings didn't stick out as often as they could have, but he'll have to guard better athletes regularly in the league, and he probably won't have 99th percentile defenders to cover for him like he did at Duke.
His lack of agility and burst won't just hurt on defense, either.
While Knueppel was able to regularly create plays inside the arc using his strength and IQ in college, he won't have such an easy time getting into the paint in the NBA. He won't be able to bully most wing defenders, and the help will come much quicker than it did against NCAA opponents.
Knueppel might be a strong finisher off of two feet, but he could find it difficult to get both of them in the paint regularly at the next level. He won't likely have as many chances to showcase his passing vision if he's not effective enough as a driver to draw help consistently.
It's been commonly said that Knueppel has one of the highest floors in the class, and it's hard to argue against that considering his marksmanship, versatility, and high-feel numbers.
However, he might have one of the lowest ceilings of the prospects at the top of the draft. Any team that might be hoping to add a star this summer should probably look elsewhere.