Charlotte Hornets rookie Liam McNeeley speak after team’s summer league practice in Las Vegas. Roderick Boone roboone@charlotteobserver.com
Freshly finished with his first true practice as a professional, Liam McNeeley is a picture of calm despite the sweat oozing out of his pores.
The latest task put in front of the Charlotte Hornets rookie was complete and McNeeley could take a slight breather to soak it all in. After nearly two weeks of whirlwind activity, he’s slowly settling into his new environment and loving every second of a journey he longed for way before the Hornets took him with the penultimate selection in the first round of the NBA Draft.
“I’m living the dream,” McNeeley said Monday, “super excited to get out there with those guys and play a couple games.”
That won’t come until Friday, when the Hornets tip off their summer league schedule with a date against the Utah Jazz at the Thomas & Mack Center. And it’ll just mark the next step in McNeeley’s progression along a path that thrust him into the spotlight at Connecticut.
During his lone season with the Huskies, the 6-foot-7 McNeeley led the team in scoring and was second in rebounding, propelling him to 2024-25 Big East Freshman of the Year honors on top of grabbing a third-team All Big East nod.
He also broke the school record for most points in a Big East game by a freshman, pouring in 38, and he posted 14.5 points, six rebounds and 2.3 assists in 32.2 minutes per game in 27 outings.
He struggled a bit from the field, nailing only 38.1% of his attempts — something he partially attributes to a high ankle sprain suffered in January that was supposed to sideline him for a lengthy period. Instead, he returned to action five weeks later.
“During the second half of the year I was playing through injury,” McNeeley said. “I could have sat out, did the treatment and did the procedure to be healed 100%. But I didn’t. I couldn’t leave my guys out there. I’d do it all again and that’s the same dedication and devotion I’m going to give to this organization.
“But now that I’m 100% healthy I’ve been shooting it great.”
Liam McNeeley arrives before the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Brad Penner USA TODAY NETWORK
Initially projected to go much higher in the draft, McNeeley essentially fell into the Hornets’ lap. Jeff Peterson, Charlotte’s president of basketball operations, acquired McNeeley and a 2029 first-round pick by dealing Mark Williams to Phoenix following the Hornets selecting Kon Knueppel fourth overall, and they jumped at the opportunity to pluck McNeeley off the board.
Sliding to No. 29 overall burns a bit.
“I didn’t expect to drop like you said,” McNeeley said. “Still, getting drafted in the NBA is amazing, so I’m still super happy and proud to be here. But, yeah, there are some names I’ve got on the list that I’d like to prove myself.”
In other words, don’t expect confidence to be in short supply for McNeeley.
“At a competitive stance, I’m up there with the best of them,” McNeeley said. “I’m super competitive. All I want to do is win and I’m going to do whatever it takes to win. I think I space the floor and I make winning plays on both sides of the floor.”
Consider these next two weeks another litmus test for the 19-year-old forward, and there are a few things Hornets assistant coach Chris Jent, who’s serving as Charlotte’s summer league coach, is eager to get a glimpse of when McNeeley is roaming the court against the opposition.
“It would be great to see him guard his position, rebound his position and play in space,” Jent said. “He came back to the ball a lot in college. And now can he space and be patient on the perimeter, use your shooting as a weapon? And then once you get the basketball back in your hands, making plays for others.
“Because he can score the ball, but just where is he with reading defenses and knowing when to be aggressive and get off the back? He’s a really good basketball player, though. He has a really good feel out there. So, it should be good.”
Several of McNeeley’s best characteristics have already caught Jent’s eye. It all begins with his attitude and approach, two traits that should endear McNeeley to his new teammates.
“I just think he’s got a great demeanor,” Jent said. “Regardless of his perceived situation that he’s in, he’s a hooper. He loves to be out on the court, he’s a great communicator, very positive on the floor with his teammates.
“He’s just brought a great presence since he’s walked into the gym.”
Which is music to McNeeley’s ears. That kind of praise from Jent is precisely what McNeeley wants to hear, given he’s convinced he can flourish wherever he’s slotted.
“I think I’m very versatile,” McNeeley said, “and I can fit in with a bunch of different systems and play with a bunch of different guys, and that’s kind of what he’s talking about. I just go out there and play basketball.”
That mentality is something McNeeley hopes others heed daily.
“If everybody buys into the idea that if you win, everybody eats, it’s true,” McNeeley said. “It’s universal. That can change a program right there and it’s true: You win, everybody eats.”