Brandon Miller isn’t easing into the season with small talk. After the Charlotte Hornets opened with a win over the Brooklyn Nets on opening night, the forward made the team’s mission plain: he and his teammates plan to do whatever it takes to reach the playoffs.
That goal carries real weight in Charlotte. The Hornets haven’t been to the NBA playoffs since 2016, and they never got there during the LaMelo Ball-Miles Bridges era. Now, Miller and Kon Knueppel are being positioned as the new faces of the franchise in the post-Ball-Bridges chapter.
Miller handled a heavy workload in Brooklyn, logging 36 minutes and finishing with 18 points. His shooting line was rough - 7-of-21 from the field, 3-of-14 from 3-point range and 1-of-2 at the line - but he still set the tone early with a nasty dunk for his first points of the 2026-27 season.
If Miller stays healthy, the Hornets have every reason to expect a big year from him. The 22-year-old swingman was limited to 65 games last season, his third in the league, but he still put up 20.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game while shooting 43.5% from the field, 38.3% from deep and 89.2% on free throws.
Charlotte clearly sees him as a cornerstone. The Hornets signed Miller to a five-year, $209 million rookie-scale extension, and he entered this season with career averages of 19.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. He was the second overall pick in the 2023 draft.
Miller also has already given Charlotte a flash of award-level production. On Feb. 1, 2026, he picked up his first Eastern Conference Player of the Week honor after averaging 26.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists over four games, becoming the first Hornet to win the award since Miles Bridges on Oct. 25, 2021.
The buzz around Miller has traveled beyond Charlotte, too. Before the season, Zach Lowe compared him to Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum, said Miller is already better than LA Clippers swingman Brandon Miller too, and believed he could land on an All-NBA team sooner rather than later.
Knueppel, another key piece of the franchise’s future, didn’t play against the Nets because he’s still working back from a left hamstring injury. The Duke product had a strong rookie season anyway, averaging 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game while shooting 47.5% from the field, 42.5% from 3-point range and 86.3% from the free-throw line. He also led the NBA in 3-pointers.
Charlotte was shorthanded beyond Knueppel, too, with Coby White and Grant Williams also out.
In Other News...
Hornets Already Face A Brandon Miller Concern They Feared
Brandon Millers first game of the season did little to quiet the questions that followed him into the year. With LaMelo Ball no longer around to steer the offense, the Hornets are already staring at the concern they feared most: whether Miller can generate enough good looks on his own, or whether his production will dip when he has to carry more of the creation burden.
There is still room for the picture to change as Charlotte gets more help around him, with Coby White and Kon Knueppel among the players who could ease some of that pressure. But the opener served as an early reminder that Millers comfort level can look very different depending on who is setting the table, and the Hornets may spend the coming weeks finding out how much of his game travels without Ball beside him. [Read more 🡒]
Grant Williams Is Already Feeling The Buzz Around Charlotte's Opener
Grant Williams has been soaking up the buildup to the Hornets' home opener in a way that fits both his roots and his role as one of the more visible Charlotte natives on the roster. Even though he won't be on the floor for the opener, the buzz around the building has already reached him, and he sounds eager to be part of a night that blends basketball, local pride and a little extra pageantry for a fan base waiting to see what this group looks like at home.
The opener will also bring a familiar soundtrack to the evening, with Petey Pablo set to perform North Carolina's unofficial anthem at halftime. For Williams, the occasion carries a personal layer beyond the game itself, with his connection to playing in his hometown and his reflections on fatherhood giving the night a meaning that goes beyond one regular-season date on the calendar. [Read more 🡒]
Hornets Already Face One Early Problem They Cant Keep Ignoring
The Hornets home opener turned into an early reminder of how thin the margin can be when a young roster is still trying to sort itself out. Charlotte fell behind quickly against Atlanta at Spectrum Center and never found much traction offensively, with turnovers and empty possessions piling up as the game slipped away. Head coach Charles Lee pointed to the ongoing adjustment to the teams offensive systems, a process that can take time but also has to show progress sooner rather than later.
Brandon Millers rough shooting night only added to the frustration, especially after the organization committed to him on a multi-year contract. There was at least one small developmental note to take from the loss, though, as Charlottes 2026 first-round draft pick made his NBA debut and contributed on both ends. For a team trying to balance patience with urgency, nights like this tend to sharpen the focus on what still needs fixing. [Read more 🡒]