In his third season, Brandon Miller is taking the leap, and the Charlotte Hornets are looking like one of the NBA's best teams.
After an impressive rookie season in 2023-24 that saw Miller finish thirdto Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren in Rookie of the Year voting, the former Alabama basketball star has dealt with frustrating injuries that have stunted his growth.
Miller only played in 27 games during his sophomore season in Charlotte. He opened his third season with an early shoulder injury that held him out, and the Hornets got off to a brutal start to the season as a result.
In the 17 games Miller has missed this year, Charlotte is just 3-14. With Miller, they are 17-14 and are beginning to creep up on the Eastern Conference's play-in race.
That's thanks to an impressive January that has seen the Hornets do something that has only been done by two previous NBA champions. Their 15-point win over the Grizzlies on the road on Wednesday night was the sixth time this month that the Hornets had won a road game by 15+ points.
Only two other teams in NBA history have done that. The 2001-02 Los Angeles Lakers and the 2011-12 Miami Heat. Both won the NBA Championship.
In January, the @hornets have won:
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) January 29, 2026
by 27 at OKC
by 55 at Uta
by 18 at LAL
by 23 at Den
by 27 at Orl
by 15 at Mem
The 6 road wins by 15+ points ties the 2001-02 Lakers (Jan) and the 2011-12 Heat (Feb) for the most in a month in NBA history.
Both of those teams won the title. pic.twitter.com/MDxBq4VzbB
Brandon Miller has been on a tear for the Hornets
Miller led the Hornets with 26 points in Wednesday night's win over the Grizzlies. It's his eighth straight game with 20+ points. He's averaged 24.8 points per game on 70% true shooting. In that stretch, the Hornets are 6-2.
Miller's game has always been silky smooth. But he's added to his bag this year and looks like a future NBA All-Star. He also looks like a real threat to be a 50/40/90 guy, too.
Miller is averaging 20.5 points per game in year three, shooting 44% from the field, 37% from three, and 86% from the free-throw line. And those numbers are being held back by a slow start to the season, where he struggled to find a rhythm due to the shoulder issue.
But now Miller is cooking. And so are the Charlotte Hornets. He's averaging 21.4 points per game in January on 48/44/89 shooting splits.
The Hornets sit at 20-28 overall and are in 11th place in the East, 3.5 games behind the 10th-place Bulls and 9th-place Hawks. They'll have to overtake one of them to get into the NBA's play-in tournament.
If Miller keeps playing at this level, that might be a formality.