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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 21: Grayson Allen #8 of the Charlotte Hornets dribbles against Mikel Brown Jr. #0 of the Brooklyn Nets during the first half at Barclays Center on October 21, 2026 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

Grayson Allen has a new NBA jersey this season, the latest stop on his professional journey since his career with the Duke Blue Devils.

This is also the closest Allen has been on a team since playing in Durham — he’s now a member of the Charlotte Hornets.

And in the season opener on Wednesday, Allen was a shining star for Charlotte.

In fact, it was a big Duke connection. Allen had to play more because the Hornets are missing Kon Knueppel due to injury. So when one Blue Devils great had to miss the game, another made sure to fill his shoes admirably.

Grayson Allen Stats

Allen and the Hornets hit the road for their opener to play in Brooklyn against the Nets.

The veteran Allen didn’t start, but he got 29 minutes off the bench and made the most of them.

Allen scored 21 points. He made 6-of-9 shots from the floor, which included 5-for-8 from 3-point range. Allen also made all four of his foul shots.

Elsewhere on the floor, Allen dished out four assists and grabbed three rebounds. He did have four turnovers.

In a game the Hornets won 110-103, Allen was a plus-20 in his time on the floor.

The Hornets also had another former Duke guard get big minutes with Knueppel out. Sion James got the start at one of the guard spots and played 27 minutes. He struggled, though, scoring just three points on 1-for-7 shooting (1-for-6 from 3) while grabbing three rebounds, swiping one steal and giving away one turnover.

Allen, on this night, made up for the absence of Knueppel and the struggles of James with his blistering shooting performance.

Grayson Allen NBA Timeline

Allen was drafted No. 21 overall in the 2018 NBA Draft out of Duke by the Utah Jazz.

He played just one season in Utah, then got two with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Allen then was a member of the Milwaukee Bucks for two seasons before playing the last three years with the Phoenix Suns.

He led the NBA in 3-point shooting in 2023-24 when he made 46.1% of his 3s.

Overall for his career, Allen has shot 40.3% from beyond the arc and averaged 11.2 points per game.

Allen had his best scoring season last year with the Suns, pouring in 16.5 points per game. He also dished out 3.8 assists per game.

That carried over into his opener of the new season in his first game with the Hornets.

It’s not clear whether Allen will get the chance to do quite as much once Knueppel is back, but at least for now, Charlotte clearly has found that it can count on Allen to make good things happen on the court.

Billy Heyen Billy Heyen is a Heavy contributor with focus on the NFL and MLB. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who spent his senior year following Jim Boeheim’s basketball team around the country. His reporting work has also included extensive work for The Sporting News, the Sandusky Register and Rochester’s Democrat & Chronicle. Adventures in sports writing have also led to in-person coverage of the Buffalo Sabres, Cleveland Guardians, U.S. men’s national soccer team and a variety of minor league baseball stories. More about Billy Heyen