Nearly two months have passed since the draft, but Liam McNeeley dropping to No. 29 continues to baffle some folks. The Charlotte Hornets aren't complaining, though, that the other teams failed to spot what they saw in him. Otherwise, they would have probably selected Sion James or Ryan Kalkbrenner earlier or gone with another player on their draft board.
Sam Vecenie of the "Game Theory" podcast cited McNeeley as an example of how a draft prospect's "context" can impact how NBA squads evaluate him.
As Vecenie noted, the young swingman was forced to play primarily on-ball during his lone season at the University of Connecticut. While he was able to do it in spurts, he clearly wasn't ready for a role he hadn't taken on before. The 19-year-old swingman had gotten used to assuming a supporting role behind Cooper Flagg and Derik Queen during his senior year in high school.
Consequently, McNeeley failed to impress the scouts enough for him to maintain his previous status as a potential lottery pick.
Entering the 2024-25 season, scouts had viewed perimeter shooting as his forte. However, he sank just 38.1 percent of his field-goal attempts and 31.7 percent of his 3-point tries. The inefficient production is believed to be the primary reason he endured a steep fall in the draft.
Fortunately, the Hornets were willing to look past McNeeley's subpar campaign with the Huskies when they were on the clock at No. 29.
Hornets found what they were looking for in Liam McNeeley
Based on how Charlotte's offseason has gone so far, it has become clear that the organization has put a premium on shooting. Aside from drafting Kon Knueppel and McNeeley, it also used two of its two-way slots on reputable marksmen.
However, making it rain from the perimeter is hardly the only reason the Hornets have been enamored with the Texas native. Vecenie also commented that he is a "psychotic worker" and is determined to improve as a basketball player.
Possessing such an admirable character has probably had the team thanking its lucky stars that the Phoenix Suns agreed to give up the 29th overall selection in the Mark Williams trade and that many other squads didn't deem McNeeley worthy of being chosen higher than where he ended up.
Of course, there is no assurance that he would end up being one of the top guys in his rookie class, although he appears to have what it takes to contend for the Rookie of the Year plum.