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NBA Rookie Ladder Vol. 2: Kon Knueppel Looks Like A Star

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Since our first NBA Rookie Ladder a couple weeks ago, much has already changed. Some rookies are establishing themselves as impact players and some have already fallen out of favor since the early moments of the season. Still, the 2025 rookie class is starting out like one of the strongest classes in years.

Let’s rank all of the rookies based on their current play, not on their long-term projection. Rookies must average at least 15 minutes per game to qualify for the ladder and the tier placements matter more than the specific order of players.

Impact NBA Players

Kon Knueppel

Dylan Harper

Cooper Flagg

Cedric Coward

Ryan Kalkbrenner

Sion James

Positive Play By Rookie Standards

VJ Edgecombe

Jeremiah Fears

Collin Murray-Boyles

Derik Queen

Will Richard

Flashes/Inconsistent Play

Walter Clayton Jr.

Tre Johnson

Drake Powell

Kobe Sanders

Ace Bailey

Nique Clifford

Egor Demin

Kon Knueppel

Entering the Draft, Knueppel was the most NBA-ready prospect in the 2025 class aside from the top-two picks. He’s playing as well, if not better, than those two players through a few weeks of their NBA careers, though. Knueppel leads all rookies in scoring, averaging 18.3 points per game on plus-4.7 percent relative true shooting.

Knueppel’s elite off-ball game immediately translated to the NBA and he’s converting 40.3 percent of his 8.3 3-point attempts per game, which ranks 14th in the league in volume. That shooting renders him a lethal screening threat next to LaMelo Ball, always liable to ghost out for a three but also willing to set a hard pick before rolling when the moment calls.

He’s more than an off-ball specialist, though, as Knueppel is proving his ability to scale up when needed, especially when Ball is injured. While his creation chances have produced a certainly unsustainable plus-16.3 relative true shooting (per databallr), his quick first step, excellent craft and savvy scoring feel make him an effective on-ball scorer for his age.

Even without nuclear athleticism, a towering wingspan or huge defensive impact, Knueppel looks the part of an offensive star in the not-so-distant future. For an often rudderless Charlotte Hornets franchise, injecting star talent like Knueppel can be enough to vault it closer to contention, exactly what it hoped for after spending a top-four pick on him in June.

VJ Edgecombe

After a searing hot start to his NBA career, Edgecombe has fallen back down to earth a bit. Across his first seven games, he averaged 19.1 points and 4.9 assists on 59.1 percent true shooting. Those numbers have dipped to 12.6 points and 3.7 assists per game on 41.8 percent true shooting over his last seven games.

Even considering his downtick in scoring volume, playmaking and efficiency, Edgecombe’s nuclear athleticism still pops in the open floor and on defense. He’s living at the basket (90th percentile rim attempts per 100), racking up deflections (76th percentile) and still shooting a strong 36 percent from deep overall.

His shot-making cratering has exposed more limitations as a half-court creator. Even a relatively lower-level version of play still deserves credit, especially considering his enormous minute share, playing more than 37 minutes per night. Absorbing volume is a skill and Edgecome has already proven his ability to do that, even if he isn’t producing like a strong offensive player throughout his rookie season. 

Jeremiah Fears

Fears, lauded for his on-ball creation and shot-making upside as a prospect, can’t stop stealing the basketball. Through his first few weeks of NBA action, Fears leads all rookies in steal rate (3.1 percent) and ranks in the top-15 league-wide. He places in the 80th percentile or better for deflections per 100 possessions (5.7 percent) and STOP rate (3.5 percent).

His turnover generation isn’t new, as Fears logged an identical 3.1 percent steal rate during his single season at Oklahoma. Steals are an unreliable proxy for defensive impact, though. In college, Fears weaponized his quick hands to force turnovers but his play-to-play defensive impact was shaky. 

Unsurprisingly, he’s struggled in similar ways in the NBA. Life for 19-year-old NBA point guards, especially on defense, is unforgiving. He’s much smaller than many of his opponents and his gambling for steals can leave him exposed. But moments like these, where Fears parks on the block and swats a shot away, make me believe there’s more to unlock on that end.

Offense will always be Fears’ primary value and he’s already flashing the makings of an impact player on that end. To survive in high-leverage games deep in the postseason, he must find ways to survive on defense, though. Throughout the beginning of his NBA career, he’s showing glimmers of what that could look like years down the line.

Kobe Sanders

A disappointing Los Angeles Clippers season already marred by injuries is necessitating help from unlikely places and Kobe Sanders has stepped up. The 50th pick was recently thrust into a high-minutes role and has produced over his last four games, scoring in double digits across his previous two outings.

Sanders’ primary value comes as an oversized floor spacer; the 6-foot-8 wing has converted 38.1 percent of his 10.4 threes per 100 possessions. At the moment, he functions as a low-usage, off-ball scorer who occasionally takes tough on-ball assignments defensively to mixed results. But any rotation minutes at all are notable for a pick in the 50s.

At Nevada, Sanders operated as a creator for his team, flashing rare ball skills and passing vision for a 6-foot-8 player, which we haven’t seen much of to this point in his NBA career. Yet the few glimpses of second-side attacking offer hope he could develop into more than a milquetoast complementary wing.

All stats are accurate prior to games played on Nov. 20.

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