Hornets waive former Villanova star, who is expected to join G League affiliate

The Charlotte Hornets announced on Saturday that they have waived Eric Dixon, the former Villanova Wildcats star.

OFFICIAL: @hornets have waived forward Eric Dixon
— Charlotte Hornets PR (@HornetsPR) October 18, 2025

Dixon is expected to join Charlotte’s G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm, provided he clears waivers. If Dixon remains with Greensboro for 60 days, he’ll earn an Exhibit 10 bonus of $85,300.

Eric Dixon was just waived by the Hornets, but his NBA hopes are still alive

The Hornets signed Dixon less than two weeks ago to the Exhibit 10 deal. Dixon was a standout at 'Nova under both Jay Wright and Wright's successor, Kyle Neptune, who recently joined Charles Lee's staff as a Hornets assistant coach.

The Charlotte Hornets have signed Eric Dixon. ✍️

The 24-year-old, 6'8", 265-pound forward went undrafted in the 2025 NBA Draft. He was the NCAA scoring champion in his final year, averaging 23.3 PPG. He retired as Villanova's all-time leading scorer with 2,314 points. pic.twitter.com/Vri1n5FxeG
— r/CharlotteHornets (@HornetsReddit) October 8, 2025

The undrafted Dixon was originally signed by the Los Angeles Lakers on a two-way deal in September, but a foot injury hurt his chances in LA, leading to him being waived.

Dixon was the leading scorer in all of college basketball in 2024-25. He also left the college game as Villanova's all-time leading scorer.

Envisioning a future for Eric Dixon at the next level

Dixon's ability to stretch the floor with a feathery, southpaw shooting touch could allow him to carve out an NBA role at some point in the future.

The main determinant of Dixon's potential NBA career will be his ability (or lack of ability) to move his feet and stay in front of face-up fours and even some big threes at the NBA level. At 6-foot-8, Dixon is severely undersized for an NBA big, but he can make up for that if he proves athletic enough to do the above.

One guy Dixon should study is Guerschon Yabusele, who recently signed with the New York Knicks. Yabusele has a similar body to Dixon, although he's probably more nimble-footed. Despite being undersized, Yabusele holds his own as a stretch four on an NBA court, and more crucially, he's figured out how to close out on wings and not get exposed.

Come to think of it, Grant Williams of the Hornets is another guy Dixon should study for some of the same reasons.

Besides all of the physical stuff we are talking about, Dixon has the mental makeup, basketball IQ, and experience that go into a winning player. He deserves a ton of credit for carrying a heavy burden at Villanova during a difficult stretch for the program. He's clearly a high-character individual and highly skilled.

Dixon will probably dominate competition in the G League and prove too strong and too savvy for players to handle at that level. Keep an eye on his development and don't be surprised if he finds his way onto Charlotte's roster if the Hornets suffer injuries in the coming months.

Despite his low ceiling as a projected NBA player, Dixon presents a high floor in the sense that he can be relied upon to play winning basketball, compete with the best of them, and stretch the floor. It's hard not to love a player like Dixon.

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