Liam McNeeley 2025 NBA Draft Profile

Liam McNeeley 2025 NBA Draft Profile

We are less than three weeks away from the 2025 NBA Draft! Today, we will be previewing UConn’s Liam McNeeley! Let’s jump right into it!

Height (no shoes): 6’6.75 (6’8.5 wingspan, 8’3.5 standing reach)

Weight: 214.6

Draft Age: 19.7

Position: Wing

McNeeley was a five-star prospect out of Montverde Academy in Montverde, Fla., playing his senior season with a stacked team that featured Cooper Flagg, Derik Queen and Asa Newell. He was the No. 10 recruit in his class, according to 247sports., joining the then-two-time reigning national champion Huskies over Kansas, Texas, Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan, among others.

Known for his sharpshooting capabilities, it was a disappointing freshman season for McNeeley, was suffered an ankle injury midway through the season. He averaged 14.5 points and six rebounds on just 38.1 percent shooting and 52.9 percent true shooting across 27 games. Let’s dive into his profile!

Strengths:

While his 3-point shot barely fell at a 30-percent clip, McNeeley possesses very good mechanics. His body is always square, he has good footwork, has a quick release and a fluid upward motion as he’s rising into his release–regardless if it’s off movement or off the catch.

He wasn’t afraid to leverage his shooting into attacking closeouts and getting downhill. McNeeley was a good connective passer and was excellent at drawing fouls inside the arc. The 6-foot-8 wing shot 6.8 free throws per 75 possessions, and his 41.0 free-throw rate ranked in the 64th percentile of forwards who attempted at least 300 shots.

McNeeley was also a respectable defensive rebounder for his possession. There’s always value to players who can close possessions, and his 18.7 defensive rebounding percentage graded in the 74th percentile among forwards 6-foot-8 or shorter who played at least 750 minutes. He wasn’t overwhelmingly dominant on the glass (like Nique Clifford), but he wasn’t a slouch despite his slim frame.

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Weaknesses:

McNeeley’s efficiency in the halfcourt was awful in his lone collegiate season.

The 19-year-old shot just 42.6 percent at the rim, 32.7 percent on non-rim 2s and 30.7 percent from 3-point range in the halfcourt, according to Databallr. That’s horrendous.

McNeeley got downhill in a straight line off closeouts, but had difficulty getting to his spots or creating any sort of separation when defenders were physical with him; they dictated where he went, not the inverse.

Perhaps his ankle injury had something to do with his lack of explosiveness–his creation reps were more encouraging pre-injury. But he never found a consistent rhythm post-injury, sporting 34.5/26.6/88.1 shooting splits in his final 13 games.

There’s a world where he becomes a viable 3-point shooter, but that’s his biggest swing skill. It’s for a lack of effort, but he’s not athletic nor skilled enough to get away with being a poor 3-point shooter. Again, mechanically, his form was sound, but the results were far from where you’d like it to be–especially for a player who was touted as a good shooter.

He also can’t shoot barely 40 percent at the rim–no matter how many times he’s fouled. He’s going to have to be better finishing through contact with both hands at 6-foot-8. He was horrendous around the rim against stiffer competition–no bueno!

Defensively, he was an average team defender, but I don’t know if he will be good enough individually to hold up in space over his first few seasons. He must get stronger while also improving his foot speed or else he’s going to get picked on relentlessly.

McNeeley’s not quick enough to defend 3s nor is he strong enough to defend 4s. He’s going to get bit by quicker athletes. Teams will have to hide him. I have legitimate concerns, though that doesn’t mean he can’t improve.

Projection: Late First Round Pick

I have a second-round grade on McNeeley. I can’t get past how inefficient he was combined with his lack of athletic pop. I think he can be a good shooter–but that’s currently a big if. I am quite lower on him compared to the consensus. I’m going to need it to believe it. Any team that takes a chance on him will have to do a good job developing his all-around game–similar to how the Miami Heat have developed Duncan Robinson.

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