After just one season in Durham, Duke basketball freshman star guard Kon Knueppel declared earlier today that he would be entering the 2025 NBA Draft. In 2024–25, Knueppel averaged 14.4 points, 4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and a steal a game while shooting 40.6% from three-point range and 47.9% from the field.
Even though the Duke program and all of its supporters anticipated this announcement, it’s still heartbreaking to have it officially announced that Knueppel will no longer be donning a Blue Devil uniform.
The standout rookie posted a parting message to the Blue Devil supporters on X following the announcement. “Forever a Blue Devil. Taking the Brotherhood with me to the next chapter #NBADraft,” the post said.
Some of the highlights of Knueppel’s rookie season and the Blue Devils’ whole 2024–25 campaign are captured in the images he provided in the article. After the Blue Devils defeated Louisville in the conference tournament final, Knueppel was named the ACC Tournament MVP, as seen in the bottom right picture.
Knueppel stepped up and led the squad to the conference tournament victory when fellow rookie star Cooper Flagg was sidelined for nearly the whole ACC Tournament due to an injury.
Throughout the ACC Tournament, the Wisconsin native shot 48.6% from the field and averaged 21 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.
The Duke program also made a post on X, giving a thank you to Knueppel and the massive impact he made on the Blue Devils’ season.
Duke head coach Jon Scheyer remarked, “Loved having Kon in our program,” following Knueppel’s draft declaration. “I’m really pleased with him and his performance this season. He is a man who truly enjoys competition. He never hesitated to make the competitive plays required to win at a high level. Kon realized that he played both sides of the ball as a freshman. For us, he had great shooting and scoring games. He was protective. The deciding factor is the fact that Kon Knueppel risks his life to retrieve a loose ball whenever it occurs.
Of Duke’s three freshmen who are anticipated to be among the top ten picks in this summer’s draft, Knueppel is the first to declare. We are still awaiting statements from Cooper Flagg and Khaman Maluach, even though it is almost a certain that both will make their announcements.
According to Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo’s analysis of ESPN’s 2025 NBA Mock Draft, Knueppel is currently predicted to be chosen eighth overall by the San Antonio Spurs.
