Charlotte won the No. 14 pick in the NBA draft lottery, with Kon Knueppel sharing how dozens of simulations still didn’t change their odds.
The Charlotte Hornets will head into the next NBA draft with the No. 14 pick after the lottery was decided on Sunday in Chicago, and Kon Knueppel’s reaction captured the mood of a night that never quite turned into a fairytale.
Representing Charlotte at the event at McCormick Place. Knueppel saw the Hornets’ fate land at 14 despite his presence not becoming a “good luck charm.” The Washington Wizards. who entered the evening with a 14% chance. won the top selection. finishing ahead of the Brooklyn Nets and the Indiana Pacers.. Those two teams had the same odds for the No.. 1 pick, underscoring how quickly the lottery’s probabilities can swing.
Knueppel also brought levity to an otherwise unpredictable process. describing how he and those around him approached the draft lottery through repeated simulation.. In a video shared in a Reddit post. he said he had run about 50 simulations during the drive down from Milwaukee with McKayla Hernandez. the Hornets’ senior manager of basketball communications and player engagement. only to watch the results repeatedly fail to lift Charlotte into a higher spot.
Even after the No.. 14 outcome. Knueppel sounded confident that the Hornets can still make the selection count in what he described as a loaded class.. His message to “bring in another stud” was tied to a clear idea: Charlotte needs an impact-caliber player who is prepared to compete and contribute immediately.
That framing lands with extra weight for a franchise that has been working through a meaningful rebuilding arc. Charlotte’s most recent run ended with a 44-38 record, a season that stands out as a turning point even if it also carried the sting of coming up short in the postseason.
The Hornets were one game away from ending a nine-year playoff drought. but their campaign concluded with a Play-In Tournament loss to the Orlando Magic.. For a team trying to prove it has arrived. the gap between one step and the next matters. and this lottery result arrives as another fork in the road.
Knueppel’s own growth has been central to Charlotte’s resurgence.. He averaged 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists, numbers that helped shape his role as a catalyst throughout the turnaround.. For his efforts. he finished as a close runner-up for Rookie of the Year. finishing behind Cooper Flagg of the Dallas Mavericks.
Looking back at Charlotte’s draft-lottery history, the club has only won the No.. 1 pick once.. That last top selection came in 1991, when the Hornets drafted Larry Johnson out of UNLV.. The rarity of that outcome provides context for why a No.. 14 landing can feel both frustrating and familiar for a team that hasn’t frequently been in position to control the draft’s top end.
For the Wizards, the night’s result shifts expectations immediately. By earning the No. 1 pick with their 14% chance, Washington leapfrogged both the Nets and Pacers, who each had equal chances, in a reminder that the lottery’s draw doesn’t just reward standings—it can redraw them.
For Charlotte, the more immediate task is translating the No.. 14 slot into measurable progress.. Knueppel’s comments point to what management will likely be hunting for: a player who can raise the team’s competitive floor and help close the distance between regular-season gains and postseason breakthroughs.
NBA draft lottery Charlotte Hornets Kon Knueppel Washington Wizards rookie of the year Play-In Tournament