With the 14th overall pick, the Charlotte Hornets have drafted Washington F/C Hannes Steinbach! Read on to know more about the German big man and how his skillset will translate to the next level!
The Basics
Height: 6’10.25″
Weight: 248 pounds
Wingspan: 7’2.25″
Max Vertical: 35.5″
Lane Agility: 10.90s
3/4 Court Sprint: 3.34s
Recruitment
Steinbach spent 1 year at Washington, after playing professionally for Würzburg Baskets, making his Bundesliga debut in 2024 after playing in Würzburg’s youth program, and for Germany’s international
team at the U19 World Cup. For Würzberg, Steinbach averaged 7.2 points and 5.1 rebounds in 31 appearances. His postseason averages bumped up to 14.8 points and 10.4 rebounds per game in the quarterfinal and semifinal series. In international play, Steinbach averaged 15.4 points and 12.7 rebounds per game while helping Germany win its first U18 Eurobasket title in 2024. At the U19 World Cup the next year, Steinbach continued his stellar play, averaging 17.4 points and 13 rebounds per game, being named to the tournament’s All Star 5. He committed to Washington in April of 2025.
Season at Washington
For his lone season at Washington, Steinbach averaged 18.5 PPG, 11.8 RPG (which led the NCAA, becoming the first Freshman to do so since Michael Beasley in 2008) and 1.6 APG in 30 games started. Steinbach shot 57.7% from the field, 34% from deep and 75.9% from the free throw line. He also led the nation in double doubles with 22, tying with Duke’s Cam Boozer. For his efforts, Steinbach earned a spot on the Third Team All Big Ten, and on the Big Ten All Freshman team. His stellar season was overshadowed by the team’s less than stellar record as Washington missed the NCAA tournament entirely, with a 16-17 record.
Strengths
ESPN’s Jay Bilas called Steinbach the draft’s best rebounder and Conrado Pascual at the Center Hub agreed, calling him “the most impactful wire-to-wire rebounder in College Basketball”. Despite his low assist numbers, Steinbach possesses good vision and can find the open man for 3. Surround him with shooters and he can kickstart an offense. Scoring wise, Steinbach excels as the roll man in a pick and roll, scoring the majority of his points that weren’t putbacks in that fashion.
Weaknesses
The perimeter game stands out as Steinbach’s biggest weak spot, as he didn’t take enough 3s to be considered a great shooter from there, but as he is still young, he can develop that shot, as Brook Lopez did later in his career. Turnovers are a problem, as he had a 1.6/2.0 assist to turnover ratio, and he can’t really create his own shot off the dribble. Also not an elite rim protector, which may make it difficult at the NBA level with so many skilled big men. Overall he’s more an old school prototypical 4 man. That might be something that hurts him at the next level.
NBA Comparisons
Steinbach has been compared to Houston’s Alperen Sengun, Sacremento’s Domantas Sabonis, or Orlando’s Mo Wagner.
