Charlotte traded for former Jazz guard Collin Sexton in late June. By PRODUCED BY DIAMOND VENCES| FOOTAGE BY ROD BOONE
Sporting a different pinstriped jersey instead of the usual one featuring purple and teal, Liam McNeeley had a few butterflies flying through the pit of his stomach.
Not enough to make the Charlotte Hornets rookie overly nervous, though.
“I used to play baseball,” McNeeley explained to the Observer minutes before his big moment, “but I stopped right before high school. I had a good arm, but I didn’t always locate it very well. So, it’ll be interesting. Nobody, including me, knows where the ball is going to end up.”
McNeeley was discussing a portion of his mission in uptown Friday night. After joining fellow rookies Kon Knueppel, Sion James and Ryan Kalkbrenner for an autograph session on the concourse near the main gate at Truist Field before the Charlotte Knights hosted the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, McNeeley hit the field to toss out the ceremonial first pitch.
The intrigue even had Knueppel a tad bit curious.
“He said in Little League they were scared of him because they didn’t know where the ball was going, but he threw hard,” Kueppel said. “So, we’ll see.”
McNeeley’s hurl to home wasn’t all that bad, representing yet another mini victory of sorts for the 19-year-old Texas native. He was already enjoying being among the people, thrilled about the relatively simple commute back to his new digs once things were all wrapped up at the ballpark.
Charlotte Hornets rookies Kon Knueppel, Liam McNeeley, Sion James and Ryan Kalkbrenner pose at Truist Field before the Charlotte Knights hosted the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp on Friday night. Photo courtesy @hornets
“I actually live like a 10-minute walk from the stadium right now,” McNeely said. “It’s cool to be a part of the community and see everybody. We did a signing. We got to see a bunch of faces, which was cool. But I also love baseball. I grew up playing it, so it’s just cool to do this.”
The Observer spoke to McNeeley, Knueppel, James and Kalkbrenner to get their take on adjusting to life with the Hornets, their anticipation leading into training camp in Charleston, S.C. in a few weeks and more.
Liam McNeeley: Lego fanatic
Roderick Boone: When did it hit you that you are now a pro basketball player?
Liam McNeeley: When Dirk Nowitzki texted me. He was like ‘Congrats.’ If you ever need anything, text him. If I ever need advice to text him. So, that was really cool. That was my hero growing up. So, it’s cool to see the brotherhood of the NBA and I’m just getting used to it.
Liam McNeeley speaks during a press conference introducing the Hornets’ new players Friday afternoon. KHADEJEH NIKOUYEH Knikouyeh@charlotteobserver.com
RB: Everyone dreams of buying something in particular if they become a pro athlete. What’s been your main purchase so far if anything?
LM: I’m spending a lot of money on Legos right now, especially the new Legos Death Star. The picture just dropped. It gets released in October, December or something. I’ll definitely be getting that. It’s a big purchase.
RB: Why are you such a Legos guy?
LM: I love Legos and I love Star Wars. And you put them together, it’s just an addiction. And I’m building up my collection real nice.
RB: What are you looking forward to with training camp and what have you heard about it?
LM: Yeah, it’ll be a lot of fun. It’ll be in Charleston. I’ve never been there. I’ve heard it’s great. I mean just being with the guys is going to be a lot of fun. There’s been a couple of days where everybody has been here. But when we have a bunch of workouts in a row when we are all together, that’s going to be really cool.
RB: Since winning the summer league championship, have you noticed the level of excitement within Hornets fans?
LM: Yeah, Charlotte’s like a big sports city, a big sports town. I think it’s cool to give the fans something to hope for, something to root for. It’s really cool to be part of something that’s building and is going to be at a high level in a couple of years.
Charlotte Hornets rookies Kon Knueppel, Liam McNeeley, Sion James and Ryan Kalkbrenner sign autographs for fans at Truist Field on Friday night. Roderick Boone roboone@charlotteobserver.com
Ryan Kalkbrenner: Father-to-be
RB: What is it like to be a part of the event with the Knights?
RK: Yeah, it’s definitely fun to start to get involved. We are still exploring the city a little ourselves, but it’s cool to do stuff like this and get more involved in the community and do these little things.
RB: Do you feel the excitement in the city after winning the summer league championship?
RK: Yeah definitely. We were doing our autographs a few minutes ago and a bunch of people were coming through the line just excited. Like ‘Yeah, thanks for winning summer league. We are pumped up for this year because of that.’ So, it’s definitely cool that we are able to start off like that and get the city and fans excited.
RB: How’s it going having a veteran center such as Mason Plumlee to show you the ropes?
RK: Yeah, I’m a rookie. I don’t know what the heck I’m doing. So, it’s nice to have guys like that who have been around and are nice dudes and are more than willing to help you out. Mason Plumlee has been great, but really all the guys have been really good.
RB: What have you noticed most about the team collectively so far?
RK: Obviously, I’ve never been in the NBA before, but I think this year’s group is really, really committed to changing the culture, and trying to win and bring a winning culture here. It seems like we all want the same thing. We’re not just here to be here, have a job or whatever. We are all trying to win. So, I’ve been really impressed with that and it makes me really excited to get out there with them.
RB: What are you looking forward to most about training camp? What do you know about it and how do you prepare for it?
RK: I don’t know how you prepare for it. You take it one day at a time and just figure it out. I was trying to think back to what it felt like as a freshman in college, but that was so long ago I can’t remember it. But yeah, I don’t think there’s a way for me to prepare for it. I’m just going to take it one day at a time and do my best.
RB: Now that you have your first pro contract, what have you purchased — or plan to buy — that you’ve been eager to get?
RK: I’ve got a baby on the way. They are expensive enough as it is. I’ve got to spend all my money on her.
RB: With coach Charles Lee, what has he instilled in you so far and how has he made you feel as if you belong here?
RK: We all just kind of bring the right attitude to the game and when we get out there playing pickup with the guys, they make us feel involved, that we feel like we are contributing. So, that makes us all feel like we belong, and feel like we can be a part of this team moving forward and help win this year. That’s a great feeling, so we are looking forward to it.
RB: The season is a little over a month away. Can you feel it’s coming along perhaps faster than you anticipate?
RK: Yeah, you can definitely feel it coming up. But it’s kind of like I said — I don’t know what I’m doing. So, it feels like it’s coming up. But I know we are going to get into training camp, and I’m going to get into training camp and be like, ‘Oh, it feels a lot longer than what I thought it was.’ But it’s all going to be fun. It’s been a blast so far and I know it’s going to keep being a blast.
Kon Knueppel speaks during a press conference introducing the Hornets’ draftees Friday afternoon. KHADEJEH NIKOUYEH Knikouyeh@charlotteobserver.com
Kon Knueppel: ‘Best job in the world’
RB: How are you feeling knowing the fans are excited after summer league?
KK: I think it’s cool. We want to carry that momentum over a little bit. We’ve been having a good fall so far, playing a bunch with the guys. So, it’s been good so far and hopefully we can carry that momentum toward the season.
RB: What have you been doing mentally and physically to get yourself ready for the season?
KK: I went home for like a week but for the most part I’ve been here in Charlotte, working out every day, playing pickup with the guys, trying to get used to everything. Settling down here.
RB: How is playing pickup with the guys generating momentum toward the season?
KK: We have random teams each day, so we are trying to get a feel for each other, different alignments and groups. It’s been fun to go out there and play some ball.
RB: Has there been a moment where you’ve said, ‘Man, I’m an NBA player now?’
KK: Yeah, I feel like every once in a while when I go — we are at Queens University right now — I go in there and it’s like 9 o’clock and you’re like, ‘Holy cow. This is my job.’ So, that level of gratitude is good to have and that should probably come up a little bit more.
RB: Can you put into words what it’s like knowing your job is to play basketall?
KK: I think it’s the best job in the world. You get a bunch of money to go into the gym, lift a little bit, play a little hoops, get a couple of shots up. I think it’s the best job.
RB: What do you want to buy if you haven’t purchased it already? Liam mentioned Legos …
KK: Yeah, me and him like Legos a lot. He’s definitely got me beat on the sets. So yeah, I’ve got a good little collection, but he’s got a whole thing. Nah, I’ve got a nice little spot here, a little townhome, an apartment in town which is nice. My mom has been down here setting it up. So basically all the furniture and that stuff — filling out the house — is kind of what I’ve been spending my money on. I haven’t gotten anything too fancy or cool yet.
RB: Do you have a target in mind? A nice car or something?
KK: I just got my Ford explorer that I have. Yeah, I don’t know. I’ll have to think about it.
RB: What has stuck out most about Coach Lee and how much do you want to play for him?
KK: He’s a good person first. It’s real easy to gravitate toward someone who is a good guy. And to see the way he operates with other people, everyone in the organization. And his family, too, he loves being around his family, so that’s just someone you want to play hard for. He takes the Xs and O’s really seriously. So, yeah, I’m really excited.
Charlotte Hornets introduce its newes players Ryan Kalkbrenner, left, Sion James, Liam McNeely, Kon Knueppel, second from right, during the presser Friday, June 27, 2025. On the right is coach Charles Lee.
Sion James: Ready for the grind
RB: Has there been a particular momentum when it hit you that you are now a pro?
SJ: There hasn’t been a moment necessarily, but there’s been like plenty of them. Ryan and I were just sitting here a minute ago talking about how we made the NBA. That was so much of the dream and now we get to the fun part of actually playing in the games and basically putting our skills to work to win some games in Charlotte. So, it’s been pretty cool.
RB: How have you adjusted and preparing for your first season in Charlotte?
RK: It’s been nice the last month or so, especially once I got moved in and settled. So, then I could really focus on playing basketball and getting better. That’s just the big thing for me. There’s a lot of, call it hoopla, around being in the NBA, especially early on before you’ve done anything or proved anything. And it’s really cool, but at the same time they bring us here to play games. So we just want to maximize that.
RB: What aspect of your game do you want to improve most?
SJ: It will really happen once the games start coming. It’s probably too soon to say now. I want to improve everything in my game is the cop out answer I guess, but in reality I know I’m just going to have to figure out what it means to be in the NBA. And doing that, there will be some ups and downs, but I’m ok with that.
RB: What did you learn in summer league about playing at this level?
SJ: The big thing is just getting comfortable with being out there, getting used to the spacing, getting used to the court size, getting used to how talented every offensive player is. Just a lot of that kind of thing. More than anything the speed, getting accustomed to where I’m at.
RB: What are you looking forward to purchasing most?
SJ: Yeah. all the stuff that I really want to get is going to have to wait for another deal. Yeah, all the stuff that I really want is not ready yet. I’m going to have to play really well on this first deal so we can get another one.
RB: Can you sense the city’s excitement after winning the summer league title? How much do you want to keep that going?
SJ: Yeah, for sure. Our big thing is recognizing that there is momentum with winning. Whether you are winning a summer league championship, whether you are winning the NBA Cup, whether you are winning the NBA Finals. So, our big thing is winning everything we can is just how we are going to play it. Like Kon said, we were in Vegas anyway, we might as well go win the thing. And we hope we start a little bit of momentum that way.
RB: What have you heard about training camp and what are you going to do to prepare to be at your best when it starts?
SJ: The biggest thing I’ve heard is just make sure my body and my mind is prepared to really get out there to compete, to learn a lot, to have a lot of energy to be on the floor a lot, and do it day after day. So, I feel good about it. It’s kind of what you prepare for. And it’s nice having some older guys on the team to let us know what’s going on so we are not without our part.