The Charlotte Hornets added one of the NBA’s most dangerous shooters this summer, and the numbers make the case loud and clear.
Grayson Allen came over from the Phoenix Suns in the Miles Bridges trade, giving Charlotte a proven perimeter threat who has built his reputation on spacing the floor and knocking down threes. He may not be a star, but he belongs in a very small shooting class. Since the start of the 2021-22 season, only Stephen Curry, Desmond Bane and Allen have hit 800-plus 3s while shooting at least 40.0% from deep.
Allen’s last season in Phoenix showed exactly what he brings. He averaged 16.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game while shooting 40.3% from the field, 34.9% from beyond the arc and 85.7% from the free-throw line. For Charlotte, he projects as a bench scorer and shooter next season.
The Duke product has been around the league since 2018, spending time with the Utah Jazz, Memphis Grizzlies, Milwaukee Bucks and Suns. Across his regular-season career, he has averaged 11.2 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game, and he’s put up 8.0 points per game in the playoffs.
Allen is just one piece of a busy offseason in Charlotte. The Hornets also traded LaMelo Ball and Josh Green to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Naz Reid, then sent Bridges to Phoenix for Allen and Royce O'Neale.
In the 2026 draft, they selected Hannes Steinbach from Washington with the 14th overall pick and Christian Anderson Jr. from Texas Tech with the 18th overall pick. Charlotte also re-signed Coby White in free agency and added Dorian-Finney Smith from the Houston Rockets.
The expected starting five next season is White, Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel, Reid and Moussa Diabaté, a group that looks strong on paper. Charlotte missed the playoffs by one game last season and hasn’t been back since 2016, but the roster now has a different kind of shape to it.
Knueppel and Miller are now the franchise centerpieces with Ball gone. Knueppel didn’t win the 2025-26 Rookie of the Year Award, but he still turned in a standout season, averaging 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists while shooting 47.5% from the field, 42.5% from 3 and 86.3% from the line. He also led the NBA in 3s.
Miller continued to show why Charlotte is building around him, appearing in 65 games and averaging 20.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. He shot 43.5% from the field, 38.3% from beyond the arc and 89.2% from the free-throw line.
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