Duke basketball star freshman guard Kon Knueppel has declared for the 2025 NBA Draft. This was an expected decision for the rookie sensation, as he along with Blue Devil freshmen stars Cooper Flagg and Khaman Maluach are all vastly expected to be headed to the NBA.
Knueppel came onto the scene right as the season began after coming into Durham as a bit of an overlooked prospect. His draft stock continued to rise heavily as the 2024-25 college basketball season progressed.
League next. Duke forever.
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) April 16, 2025
Thank you, @Kon2Knueppel! 💙💙👿 pic.twitter.com/wE2cBYNshg
The Wisconsin native finished his lone season with the Blue Devils averaging 14.4 points, four rebounds, 2.7 assists, and a steal a night on 47.9% shooting from the floor and 40.6% shooting from three-point range on 5.3 attempts a game.
Knueppel, a 6'7 217-pound wing, is oozing with potential at the NBA level with his shooting and defensive capabilities. He's a lockdown defender, able to guard the one through four spots, and finishes extremely well at the basket off of two feet.
The rookie thrived in catch-and-shoot situations, and as the season went on and Duke head coach Jon Scheyer ran more action for him off of three point line, Knueppel continued to succeed.
He was especially great in the Blue Devils' ACC Tournament run after Flagg went down with an injury in Duke's quarterfinals victoy over Georgia Tech. It was announced that Flagg would miss the remainder of the conference tournament, and Knueppel rose to the occasion.
Through Duke's three ACC Tournament games, Knueppel averaged 21 points and 5.6 rebounds a game on 48.6% shooting from the floor, eventually earning the wing ACC Tournament MVP honors.
Knueppel then dropped 20 and 21 points respectively in the Blue Devils' Sweet 16 victory over 4-seed Arizona and Elite 8 victory over 2-seed Alabama.
It was expected that Knueppel would declare for the draft, and he is the first of Duke's three star-studded rookies projected to be selected in the top ten to announce his future plans, as Flagg and Maluach have yet to announce their decisions.
Knueppel is currently projected to be selected eighth overall by the San Antonio Spurs at ESPN's 2025 NBA Mock Draft, done by Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo.