The Charlotte Hornets successfully employed artificial intelligence to confirm their choice of Kon Knueppel as the No. 4 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft. This innovative approach has contributed to Knueppel’s emergence as a standout rookie and a leading contender for Rookie of the Year due to his impressive scoring abilities.
A Hornets executive explained that the team integrated an AI-powered analytics platform into their draft strategy, which played a crucial role in targeting and confirming Knueppel’s selection during the draft process in Charlotte.
Shifting Talent Evaluation with AI and Advanced Analytics
While traditional NBA scouting depends on reports, film analysis, and interviews, the Hornets have embraced AI to enhance player assessments. Before the 2025 draft, Invisible Technologies approached Charlotte with a computer vision platform that offered comprehensive scouting data.
Patrick Harrell, Charlotte’s VP of Basketball Insights and Analysis, emphasized the impact this partnership had by stating,
“Within weeks, Invisible provided us with an AI draft strategy that gifted us Kon Knueppel, the #4 overall pick by the Charlotte Hornets in the 2025 NBA draft,” Harrell said.
This integration of AI tools marked a new era for the Hornets’ draft methodology, merging human expertise with cutting-edge technology to make informed talent decisions.
Behind the Technology: Crafting a Unique Draft Analytics Solution
Aaron Bawcom, Field CTO at Invisible Technologies, revealed how their team developed a groundbreaking system that approximates the NBA’s complex multi-camera tracking using simpler retail cameras combined with proprietary AI analysis. This innovative setup was designed in just nine days to provide a detailed, bespoke draft analytics platform for the Hornets.
“We were able to replicate an existing multi-camera high fidelity networked camera system that the NBA uses with single-point retail cameras and our AI analysis. We took those reusable components and used forward-deployed engineers to bring in a unique custom solution in nine days that led to a level of draft analytics that no one’s ever seen before,” Bawcom said.
This rapid development allowed Charlotte to gain a predictive edge in evaluating draft prospects, helping them back Knueppel with data-driven confidence alongside conventional scouting.
Knueppel’s Performance Validates Both AI and Traditional Scouting
Although Kon Knueppel was widely expected to be a top draft pick, his rookie season has vindicated both the AI-assisted evaluation and existing scouting assessments. He is averaging 19.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game, while shooting a highly efficient 48.7% from the field, 43.5% from beyond the arc, and 89.1% from the free-throw line.
His exceptional shooting has propelled the Hornets’ improvement this season and earned him a place in the NBA All-Star 3-Point Contest. There, Knueppel finished third behind champion Damian Lillard and runner-up Devin Booker, drawing acclaim even from NBA great Stephen Curry.
His impressive performance during the NBA Summer League further highlighted his impact:
“He was named MVP of the NBA Summer League Championship game after leading the Hornets to victory. He scored 21 points in the final game, helping the Hornets defeat the Sacramento Kings. This win also marked the Hornets’ first-ever trophy and Summer League championship.”
Though fellow rookie Cooper Flagg may ultimately claim Rookie of the Year honors, Knueppel’s strong debut at age 20 marks a significant milestone for both his career and the franchise.
Implications for the Hornets and Future Draft Strategies
The successful blend of AI technology and traditional scouting methods in selecting Kon Knueppel points to a promising future for the Hornets’ talent evaluation strategies. This approach could increasingly influence how NBA front offices assess prospects, combining human judgment with data-driven insights to minimize uncertainty and optimize draft outcomes.
As Knueppel continues to develop, his rookie season serves as a proof of concept for AI’s growing role in professional basketball scouting, potentially shaping how teams approach drafts in the coming years.
The Hornets vice president of Basketball Insights credits an AI platform for drafting Kon Knueppel:
"Within weeks, invisible provided us an AI draft strategy that gifted us Kon Knueppel"
(h/t @djdotmp4) pic.twitter.com/oCdv0K9m26
— Hoops Alerts (@TheHoopsAlerts) February 24, 2026
