CHARLOTTE HORNETS


Role players like center Moussa Diabate have progressed into complimentary pieces for the Charlotte Hornets, who have won three of five games going into the Christmas break.

The Charlotte Hornets are beginning to find something they have been longing for.

Consistency.

That means with the rotation and winning games. With a 126-109 win over the Washington Wizards, the Hornets (10-20) have taken three of their last five and finding a rhythm with key players like LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller on the floor. 

“I think [what has contributed] is our defensive intensity,” coach Charles Lee said. “I feel like our defense continues to get better. The games that we win, our defensive rating is usually in a really good spot. Then, offensively… I feel like I come up here a lot of games now and I’m talking about how many assists we had and how many made field goals [we had]. It’s a testament to our overall pace, but also, guys getting out of screens. Our execution in the half court and our execution in the early offense is really good.”

Center Moussa Diabate has stepped up in a big way with the absence of Ryan Kalkbrenner and Mason Plumlee to injury. In the first game of a back-to-back, against Cleveland, Diabate had 14 rebounds and against Washington snagged 18. He also went 6-for-6 from the floor with no turnovers. 

“We’ve got to highlight my man Moussa,” Lee said. “That’s another part of our offense, and it’s really clicking. He’s played more and had 18 total rebounds tonight. But the thing I told him, even after the game, is that when he comes up with offensive rebounds, there’s so many people that just try to go up by themselves, and it becomes a little bit of a selfish thing. And I feel like every time he gets it, he’s thinking a little bit [about] how can he score, but once he feels crowds, he’s kicking out, and that’s how we’re getting so many of our open looks.”

When everyone focuses on Ball, Miller and Miles Bridges, the complimentary players are making impacts that translate to wins. Tidjan Salaün played 21 minutes against Washington and finished with 11 points and six rebounds. Lee felt his stint in Greensboro with the Swarm was crucial to his improvement.

“He’s a young player,” Lee said, “one of the youngest players in the [2024] draft. Even last season he had to play a bit of a different role, just with the cast we had on the floor and all the injuries that we had. I think this year, he’s settled into his role a little bit having guys like LaMelo and Brandon back healthy. … But I think Greensboro really helped him. He was able to play through some mistakes. There was a clear role identified for him as far as what we wanted him to work on and he fully embraced it. So, I think he’s done a great job of growing every day and understanding that there’s so many ways to impact the game, not just with his scoring.”

Hornets first round draft pick Kon Kuneppel continued his stellar play against Washington with 19 points and knocking down five three-pointers in the process. He became the quickest player to 100 career three-pointers in just 29 games surpassing the previous record of 41 games held by Lauri Markkanen. 

Even after reaching the milestone, Knueppel said he didn’t really realize how big of an achievement it was.

“I had a bunch of texts after the game, not even having realized it because I didn’t open my social media yet,” Knueppel said. “So, I didn’t know what everyone was talking about, which is funny. But, no, I don’t really think about it that much. Obviously, the amount of games I beat it by, I was like, ‘oh man, it’s quite a few,’ but I didn’t really think about it too much to be honest.” 

Ball finished with 23 points, Miller with 20 and Knueppel’s 19. When the Hornets are healthy and share the ball, wins come as a result. As 2026 quickly approaches, Knueppel said the mentality isn’t changing. 

“That’s how the game is designed to be played,” he said. “Obviously, great players are going to dominate the ball sometimes, but the game is designed to be played together as a team against another team. So, when the ball is moving, I think it is most fun for everybody. It feels really good when LaMelo pump fakes and passes, and Brandon does the same thing and passes, and we turn down two good shots for a great shot in the corner for me and it goes the same way. …  I just think that’s the beauty of basketball.”

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