Selected with the second overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, Brandon Miller has provided Charlotte Hornets fans plenty of entertainment. No, the team hasn’t been very good, but Miller has looked like a building block for their next playoff-level team. He has already totaled eight games in his career with more than 30 points. Unfortunately for Brandon Miller and Charlotte, an injury will likely sideline him for quite some time.
Hornets Phenom Likely Out For Quite Some Time With Injury
Brandon Miller Has A Wrist Injury, Out Indefinitely
On Friday, the Hornets defeated the Chicago Bulls by the score of 125-123. In a matchup between brothers LaMelo Ball and Lonzo Ball, Charlotte was able to improve their record to 10-28. They still have much work to do to avoid missing the postseason for the ninth-straight season. Absent from the lineup was the 22-year-old Miller.
It has been announced that the 6-foot-9 forward has a torn scalpholunate ligament in his right wrist. While thus far, the team has just announced Miller as out indefinitely, this normally is not a short-term injury. It usually sidelines a player for months, so Miller may miss a large chunk of the remainder of the season.
Taking his place with the starters on Friday was the 20-year-old Nick Smith Jr. The 6-foot-2 guard was selected with the 27th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. In what was his 71st career outing, it was also Smith Jr.’s first career start. Playing 26 minutes, he finished with 15 points (6-12 from field, 3-7 from three-point territory), five rebounds, one assist, and one steal. Josh Okogie may later have ann opportunity to take a place in the starting lineup after Charlotte acquired him on Thursday, dealing away center Nick Richards to the Phoenix Suns.
One Of Charlotte’s Top Scorers
Now in his second season, Miller has developed into one of the league’s better young scorers. Prior to the injury, Miller had appeared in 27 games (all starts) in 2024-25. The small forward has posted averages of 21.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.7 blocks. Miller has shot 40.3% from the field, 35.5% from beyond the arc, and 86.1% from the free-throw line. His 10.9 three-point attempts per contest are the second-most in the NBA, only behind his teammate LaMelo Ball. On November 21, Miller scored 38 points in an overtime win over the Detroit Pistons, establishing a new career-high.
As a rookie last season, Miller was named to the All-Rookie First Team. Miller also finished third in Rookie of the Year voting (behind Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren). He scored at least 20 points in 29 of his 74 appearances. Despite missing eight games, Miller connected on 184 three-pointers, the fourth-most ever by a rookie (only behind Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell, and Keegan Murray).
Previous to that, he played one season collegiately for the Alabama Crimson Tide. It was a banner one year there for Miller as Alabama reached the Sweet 16. He won the Wayman Tisdale Award (nation’s top freshman), was named the SEC Player of the Year, and was a Second Team All-American.
With the Hornets still having 44 games remaining, let’s hope this isn’t the last that has been seen of Miller in the 2024-25 season.
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