No. 1 in history! No. 1 in the league! The Eastern Conference Draft was a great success, and three goals are no longer for sale

The most indispensable thing in the NBA is talent, but the rise of every new star requires the right time, place, and people. Opportunities are limited and only belong to those who are prepared. Take the 2025 rookie class as an example. The No. 1 pick, Flagg, had high hopes. Irving was injured and had a thick eyebrow. The Mavericks coach Kidd gave Flagg a lot of opportunities, but Flagg was completely unprepared and struggled to quietly bring the Mavericks to the bottom of the Western Conference. According to statistics, when Flagg is on the court, the Mavericks' offensive efficiency is only 97.8; when Flagg is not on the court, the Mavericks' offensive efficiency reaches 109.4.

Xiao Ai, the top pick, also caught up with George's injury. The 76ers coach Nurse gave Xiao Ai a lot of opportunities. Xiao Ai averaged 17.6 points + 5.6 rebounds + 4.8 assists + 1.4 steals per game, leading the rookie list in scoring, assists and steals. The 76ers missed Bailey and picked up Xiao Ai, which is a treasure. The trade king's call to give up George is unprecedentedly high. The 76ers may have the opportunity to enter the "Believe in the Process 2.0 Era" in advance. In addition to the 76ers, there is another team in the league that has had great success in drafting. Two treasure boys were selected in one draft.

I'm talking about the Charlotte Hornets. The Hornets are truly the weaklings of the Eastern Conference. They have repeatedly bounced between dismantling and rebuilding, and their road to rise is far away. According to statistics, the Hornets have not entered the NBA playoffs for nine consecutive years, which is the longest existing playoff drought record in the NBA. In the past few years, the Hornets have had no shortage of high-ranking draft picks, but Jordan's vision for selecting players is really disappointing. After finally selecting young talents such as Ball, Miller, and Bridges who scored three goals, their growth was lower than expected due to injuries and off-court factors. However, after Jordan sold a large amount of team equity, the Hornets actually made a wonderful turnaround in the 2025 draft. It just so happened that Miller and the three-goal hit and miss, the Hornets' two rookies shined.

The Hornets used the No. 4 pick to select Duke University white forward Knipel. Knipel is a famous shooter with mediocre physical fitness and athletic ability. The Hornets actually took a huge risk by selecting him. But what's the result? After 9 games, Knipel averaged 16.4 points, 6 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 3.3 three-pointers per game, with a three-point shooting rate of 40.5%. Especially in the past three games against the Jazz, Pelicans and Heat, Kniper scored 24 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, 20 points, 12 rebounds and 30 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists. He is the first player among the 25th rookie to score 20+ points in 3 consecutive games. At the same time, it took Knipel only 9 games to score 30 three-pointers, ranking first in NBA history. According to the predictions of the American media The Lead, Knipel is expected to make 273 three-pointers this season, which can completely refresh the record for the number of three-pointers made by a rookie player in a single season.

The Hornets also used the No. 4 pick in the second round to select Creighton University white center Kalkbrenner. Kalkbrenner is an older, top blue-collar king. During the NCAA period, he made a name for himself when he made 20 of 22 shots in a single game, scoring 49 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks. In the new season, Kalkbrenner played 9 games, averaging 9.2 points + 6.9 rebounds + 1.1 steals + 2.6 blocks per game (second in the league, second only to Wenban's 4.8). His field goal percentage was as high as 81.3%, ranking first in the league. Especially in the past 4 games, Kalkbrenner has sent 4+ blocks in a row. He is the 10th player in NBA history to accomplish this achievement. The first 9 players are Wenbanyama, Admiral, Dameng, O'Neal, Uncle Mu, Mourning, Eaton, Bol and Benjamin.

Knipper is the hottest elite shooter in the league and has a promising future; Kalkbrenner is a pie-eating center that combines offense and defense, plug and play. In the words of the Hornets coach, Kniper and Kalkbrenner both have unparalleled golf intelligence and can become the team's golden partners inside and outside. But looking at it from another perspective, the sharpness of Knipel and Kalkbrenner will only amplify the embarrassment of three goals. In the first five seasons of his career, he missed a total of 169 games with three goals and an attendance rate of only 58.8%. In the new season, Sango missed 3 consecutive games due to injury. According to the US media, Sanqiu's multiple ankle surgeries pose a risk of chronic injury. His attitude towards basketball is not serious enough, and his ability to lead the team to win is even more unflattering. The three-goal contract has four years and US$169 million left, and the annual salary in the new season will be as high as US$37.96 million. Three goals are no longer not for sale for the team, but this hot potato probably won’t be worth a lot of money! Fans and friends, what do you think of this? Come and leave me a comment to discuss.