Yanic Konan Niederhauser to the LA Clippers: "Who is this?"

Yanic Konan Niederhauser became Penn State men's basketball's first first-round pick in program history on Wednesday, June 25 when the Los Angeles Clippers took a chance on a widely unknown center in the final pick of the first round. Konan Niederhauser, the former Nittany Lion, went No. 30 overall in the 2025 NBA Draft.

This was an unexpected move, with many mock drafts having Konan Niederhauser as an early-to-mid second rounder and some having him picked up late in the second round. In fact, when he first entered his name into the draft, many were expecting the center to back out and return to the Penn State court and reclaim his final year of college eligibility. A combine invitation and a head-turning performance later, Konan Niederhauser hopped on a bunch of teams' radars.

Now all that's left are the fans.

Fans react to the LA Clipper's drafting Yanic Konan Niederhauser No. 30 overall in the 2025 NBA Draft, wondering who the new face is

The Clippers have Croatian star Ivica Zubac and a strong center following up behind him is what they would benefit from. It was a gamble as to whether Los Angeles would opt for a point guard and figure out its needs at center in the free agency pool. However, potential veteran options were set aside and executive Lawrence Frank put his faith in Konan Niederhauser's corner.

Scouts overlooked Konan Niederhauser, so it's not a surprise that fans are popping out wondering who the center is and how he emerged as a first-rounder. Pulling each other in one direction and then the next, the main question circulating is, "Who?"

Some fans are asking for the stats to be pulled up, some kind of information from his past NCAA season to try and justify LA's supposed gamble of a first round draft pick. Those who know of the young center, though, are full of congratulations and a sprinkle of excitement — even spreading the word with pride that Konan Niederhauser is a former Nittany Lion. As a junior, he started in 29 games and averaged 12.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per games. He shot a 61.1 percentage from the field as well.

The Clippers definitely had other players to choose from, which is where most of the fan frustration and worry stems from. One fan commented:

"Done a good amount of draft research and he’s good. I like him as a player. Good enough to likely be the backup center right off the bat. That being said, I’m worried that us passing up on Fleming, Penda, Frake Powell, Reynaud, etc, is gonna be a mistake"

Does that make Konan Niederhauser a "terrible" and "waste of a" draft pick? If he was a more well-known player from the get-go, despite what round he was drafted in, would fans be less critical? Does LA having a history of putting development on the back-burner make Konan Niederhauser responsible?

The Clippers have been questioned in the past about their lacking in prioritizing development of their younger players. Though Zubac will help Konan Niederhauser advance his offensive abilities, he can't do all the work by himself. The seven-foot center is a young talent with refinement to be made and an early career of development in front of him.

Sports Illustrated said Konan Niederhauser will "have to prove he can handle the physicality of NBA centers to earn early minutes, but his upside is higher than most of the other bigs in this range."

Let it not go over fans' heads how far Konan Niederhauser pushed himself from one step to the next, though: from a Mid-American Conference player, to a Big Ten standout that will be well-missed by head coach Mike Rhoades, to an expected draft dropout, to receiving a combine invite, to a serious second round contender, and finally to a shocking first round draft pick. If it's anything in his control, Konan Niederhauser will prove himself to fans and they won't be asking, "Who?," for much longer.