Brandon Miller didn’t waste time making his presence felt after cashing in on a massive new deal. Two days after agreeing to a five-year, $209 million rookie-scale extension, he was back on the floor Wednesday night and played a team-high 35:39 in Charlotte’s 110-103 season-opening win over the Brooklyn Nets in Brooklyn.
Miller finished with 18 points, but the night was about more than the box score. He shot 7-of-21 from the field and 3-of-14 from 3-point range, added 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block, and also went 1-of-2 at the line. He turned it over three times and ended up minus-4.
The contract talks had already become public Monday, when ESPN’s Shams Charania reported the extension agreement. A person familiar with the negotiations later confirmed the terms to The Associated Press.
Charlotte made Miller the No. 2 pick in the 2023 draft out of Alabama, one spot after Victor Wembanyama. He turns 24 on Nov. 22, and the Hornets are clearly betting on him as one of the pillars of what they’re building.
That belief has been backed up by his production when he’s on the floor. Last season, Miller started all 65 games he appeared in and averaged 20.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists while shooting 38.3% from 3-point range. He knocked down a career-high 204 threes, and Charlotte went 41-24 in the games he played compared with 3-14 when he sat out.
Availability has been the catch. A right wrist injury limited him to 27 games in 2024-25, and he had surgery on his left shoulder in May. The Hornets had already exercised the fourth-year option on his rookie contract last October.
This season has already brought another small hurdle. A shin contusion kept Miller out of the Oct. 6 preseason opener against Brooklyn, though he came back five days later and scored 18 points in 23 minutes against Milwaukee.
After the game Wednesday, Miller made it clear what he thinks Charlotte should be chasing. The Hornets haven’t reached the playoffs since 2016, and he said that standard is the bar now.
"I'm always saying we're going to be a playoff team," Miller said. "That's just always where I stand with what this team is going to be. Our goal is, of course, the playoffs, and we're going to do everything that we can to get there."
Charlotte finished 44-38 last season, then beat the Miami Heat in the play-in tournament on April 14 before losing at Orlando on April 17, one win short of the East’s eighth seed.
Against Brooklyn, the Hornets also had to navigate a thinner scoring night from deep. They hit 15 of 48 from 3-point range, with Grayson Allen and Royce O'Neale - both acquired from Phoenix in July - combining for 7 of those makes.
With Kon Knueppel and Coby White out, Miller took 21 shots, and he described his job in broad terms: attack, defend and keep the possession flowing.
"I think the team asks me to, of course, be Brandon Miller," Miller explained. "Whether that's being a two-way, guarding everybody on the floor, or scoring the basketball, or just getting everybody in action or getting everybody involved. We do a great job of just playing with the pass, playing with each other."
He added: "Sometimes I'm not really needed, but I'm still there to help out as much as I can and just make all the winning plays."
That emphasis on winning plays wasn’t new. Miller said in the preseason that those moments were helping build his confidence with the Hornets.
Through three seasons, he has averaged 19.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists while shooting 37.3% from 3-point range. He entered Wednesday with 492 career 3-pointers in 166 games, including 160 starts.
He’ll make $15,104,626 this season, the final year of his rookie-scale contract.
In Other News...
Brandon Miller Just Delivered The Kind Of Start Hornets Fans Wanted
Brandon Miller gave the Hornets the kind of early jolt their season opener needed at Barclays Center, flashing the athleticism that made him one of the franchises core young pieces. The second overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft is entering his fourth NBA season, and Charlotte has already made it clear how much it values his place in the rebuild.
His start was headlined by a highlight dunk, the sort of play that can set a tone in a game and, just as importantly, remind everyone how much more upside still sits in his game. After an offseason extension, Miller is no longer just a promising piece for the Hornets. He is part of the long-term answer, and nights like this are why the optimism around him has stayed so strong. [Read more 🡒]
Dennis Schrder Is Already Giving The Hornets Something They Needed
Dennis Schrder did not need much time to show Charlotte what it was getting when it brought him over from Cleveland. Starting at point guard in the Hornets 110-103 win over Brooklyn, he finished with 19 points and looked very much like the kind of steady hand this roster has been searching for. His impact went beyond the box score, too, with coach Charles Lee pointing to the veterans leadership and basketball IQ as traits that stood out almost immediately.
For a Hornets team still sorting out its identity, that kind of presence matters just as much as scoring. Schrder has already earned the staffs trust, and the early signs suggest he can help organize possessions, settle the group and bring a needed voice in tense stretches. The bigger question now is how quickly that influence shows up when the games get tighter and the margins shrink even further. [Read more 🡒]
Ryan Kalkbrenners Hornets Role Suddenly Looks More Important
Ryan Kalkbrenners first night of the season offered a little reminder of why the Hornets have kept him in the middle of the conversation at center. In nearly 14 minutes off the bench against Brooklyn, he gave Charlotte a sturdy defensive presence, helped on the glass and made his minutes count in a game the Hornets used to get the right kind of early momentum.
The bigger question now is how much more the Hornets can lean on that kind of impact as the rotation settles in. Kalkbrenner is in the second year of his contract and already looks like a meaningful part of the center mix, especially with coach Charles Lee still sorting through what Charlotte does well and where it can tighten up even after a win. [Read more 🡒]