Of the 2025 Charlotte Hornets draft class, only one of the team’s four rookies has yet to make a noticeable impact on the court: Liam McNeeley.
The Hornets selected him 29th in June after one season under Dan Hurley at the University of Connecticut, where he didn’t have the breakout many expected. McNeeley was the No. 10 recruit headed into the season in the 247Sports rankings after playing alongside Cooper Flagg, Asa Newell, and Derik Queen at Montverde Academy.
During his lone year at UConn, the wing averaged 14.5 points on 38.1% from the field, shooting 31.7% from deep on around 5.4 threes per game. While taking a glance at his statistics do give off the idea that Liam had a disappointing year, sometimes numbers do not always tell the full story.
During the midway point of the season, the Texas native suffered an ankle injury that sidelined him for eight games. After returning, Liam boasted a 38 point, 10 rebound game in which he helped UConn secure victory over the Creighton Blue Jays, with his soon-to-be teammate Ryan Kalkbrenner on the opposing end.
McNeeley played 27 games, 26 outside of the DePaul game. It was the dead middle of the season, 13 games before, 13 games after. In the 13 games before, Liam averaged 13.9 points a night on 42.9% from the field, along with 37.7% from three. In the 13 games after, he averaged more points at 15.5, but his efficiency dropped to 34.5% from the field and 26.6% from three.
It’s evident that the ankle injury was bothering the wing to end the season, and now the numbers tell the story of what actually happened.
Fast forward to today, and Liam has appeared in 11 of the Hornets’ 17 games this season. He’s averaging 4.2 points on 30.8% from the field and 34.6% from three, the only rookie for Charlotte that has yet to pop for the team.
Despite that, fans should not begin to worry or become concerned with the rookie they traded Mark Williams to select.
Outside of Tidjane Salaun, Liam is arguably the most raw player on the roster. He’s currently the youngest on the roster, too, turning 20 years old just last month. With Kon Knueppel being only two months older and looking like a fringe all-star, it has set eyes onto the performance of the other first round pick.
While it may be disappointing to those who want to see him perform with the main squad, the best thing for Liam’s career may be some time to get up shots in the G-League. We have seen plenty of shooting wings like McNeeley who have spent significant time in the G that have turned into excellent NBA players. Sam Hauser, Danny Green, Max Strus, Duncan Robinson, and Gary Trent Jr all spent significant G-League time, and ended up turning into phenomenal role players.
It’s the best thing for both the Hornets and McNeeley going forward.
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