Kon Knueppel reveals what he can bring to an NBA organization

The 2025 NBA Draft class has revolved around Cooper Flagg since before he arrived at Duke. However, one of his teammates and fellow member of the 2024 recruiting class, Kon Knueppel, has played himself into a potential lottery pick alongside his freshman superstar teammate.

Knueppel is the No. 8 player in ESPN’s current draft board after averaging 14.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game during his true freshman season. He played in every single game for the Blue Devils in 2024-25, and is going to be his biggest pitch to NBA teams during his pre-draft process, he said.

“Availability — Be a guy that wants to play all the games,” Knueppel told ESPN’s Seth Greenberg in Chicago on Thursday at the 2025 NBA Draft Combine. “I just want to get on the court and I want to play all the time. We’ve got guys, a lot of guys, sitting out games, and it’s a long season but I want to be available. I want to compete.”

Knueppel was more than just available to play during his time at Duke. His 39 games played, and started, tied a single-season record for the Blue Devils. He made the most of his time on the court in each matchup and finished his time in Durham with the fourth-best free throw percentage (91.4%) in Duke basketball history, making 117 of his 128 attempts during the season. He would make 38 consecutive free throws at one point.

Moreover, Knueppel proved lethal from beyond the arc during his freshman year. He totaled 86-made 3-point baskets on a 40.6% clip.

Unfortunately for the former Duke standout, Knueppel was unable to prove himself in front of NBA scouts this week at the combine as an injury kept him out of the scrimmages and drills. Leading up to the event, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony reported that Knueppel sprained his ankle roughly three weeks before the combine and isn’t fully healthy to put his skills on display in Chicago. Givony noted that Knueppel is still required to complete both portions of the the combine’s event at a later date at a NBA team facility.

Even without his participation in the combine this week, Knueppel is still expected to hear his name fairly soon after the 2025 NBA Draft begins next month. Where that will be remains to be seen, but it’s clear that Knueppel is willing to fight for his minutes from day one.