CHARLOTTE — One step forward, one step back.
Just as the Charlotte Hornets appeared to be trending in the right direction with five wins in their past eight games, the team will now have to march on without a key starter in the mix.
Second-year standout wing Brandon Miller’s 2024-25 campaign has come to a premature end after making his final appearance of the season on Jan. 15.
While he was held out of Charlotte’s 125-123 victory over Chicago on Jan. 17 due to an initial “wrist sprain,” the severity of his injury was further revealed after that win.
The bad news became official just a few days later: the Hornets’ second-leading scorer will be out for the rest of the season.
“The Charlotte Hornets announced today guard Brandon Miller underwent surgery to repair a torn scapholunate ligament in his right wrist,” the Hornets announced in a Jan. 23 press release. “The surgery was performed by Dr. Michelle Carlson at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. Miller will miss the remainder of the season and updates on his status will be provided as appropriate.”
In 27 games this season, No. 2 overall pick of the 2023 draft averaged 21 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.1 steals, connecting on an NBA fifth-best 3.9 3-pointers per game.
Miller has appeared in 101 games across two seasons with career averages of 18.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists.
The former Alabama star’s abbreviated second season in the league showed much promise coming off a strong previous year where he was named to the All-Rookie First Team and earned the accolades of three Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month honors and a Rising Stars spot at All-Star Weekend.
First-year Hornets coach Charles Lee recently told reporters that Miller is still in “high spirits” despite the palpable disappointment of a season-ending wrist injury.
“We stay in touch every day and obviously he’s been around the team,” Lee said. “He’s confident in himself to be able to go through a rehab process and come back even stronger. He’s also confident in the process that we’re going to have and the plan that we’re going to have behind him to support him.”
The Hornets (12-30) are certainly no strangers to injury woes, with fellow starters LaMelo Ball and Mark Williams each spending significant time on the sideline.
Incredibly, Charlotte’s playmaking quartet of Miller, Ball, Williams and Miles Bridges appeared together in just four contests this season as various health concerns have continued to crop up, severely limiting the amount of time that the players have had to gel on the court.
“That definitely hurts,” Ball said of Miller’s extended absence. “I was in the same kind of situation, my rookie year, or sophomore, whatever. I know how he feels, we just always have his back, watch out for him. He’s with the whole squad. That’ll help a little.”
In order for the Hornets to continue their recent stretch of competitive play, they will need to replace the missing production due to Miller’s absence.
Nick Smith Jr., another 2023 first-round pick, has started the past five games, averaging 13 points, three rebounds and 2.6 assists while racking up nearly 30 minutes of action per game.
Bench players Josh Okogie, Vasilije Micic and Seth Curry will also likely receive more of a workload going forward to help fill in the rotational gaps left by Miller’s ability to play at both the small forward and shooting guard positions.
It helps matters that Williams — a third-year center with a rising ceiling if he can stay healthy — has recently leveled up his game in a major way, averaging 23.2 points, 12.6 rebounds, three assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.2 steals over his last five appearances.
Ideally, Miller’s presence on the court would free up space for Williams to continue to assert himself in a growing way, but the former Duke star is currently on a trajectory to still capitalize on his increased workload and rotational dependence; Williams racked up a career-high 38 points in the Hornets’ 132-120 loss in Memphis last week.
As for Miller, a frustrating end to his sophomore NBA season will have him extra eager to hit the court as he looks ahead to Year 3.
“We all just have to band together and help him get through his rehab,” Lee said of his injured player.
