James Bouknight to Get More Opportunities in Final Stretch of the Season
In this story:
Charlotte Hornets fans have been waiting for former 2021 first-round pick James Bouknight to break through and become a mainstay in the big league club's rotation. Due to wrist and neck injuries in February of 2022, Bouknight never found enough of a runway to make the most of his limited playing time.
Last summer was going to be a huge part of his development but unfortunately, he sustained yet another injury that required surgery on his pinky, causing him to miss all of Summer League.
Much of Bouknight's time this season has been spent down in the G-League with the Greensboro Swarm. Despite all of the injuries the Hornets have had, Bouknight remained in Greensboro to continue to work on his game and gain confidence. Over the last month, he did just that as he found his groove offensively. The one game that caught everyone's attention came against the Austin Spurs where he dropped 44 points on 13/20 shooting (11/16 3FG).
A combination of his play and more injuries on the NBA team resulted in him being recalled to the Hornets. During Sunday's win over the Dallas Mavericks, Bouknight had a nice series of plays where he swished a deep three, had a terrific mid-air adjustment to avoid a block, laid it in for two, and then came up with a steal. He also pulled down three rebounds in his ten minutes of action.
It may be an extremely small sample size, but the few plays he made show that Bouknight is more than capable of playing at this level. It's just a matter of whether or not he can do it consistently, along with staying healthy.
"I just think this is an opportunity for him. He can now use this as a springboard into his summer," said Hornets head coach Steve Clifford. "One of the things that's hurt his year this year was he didn't have a summer last year. He didn't really do anything. He was injured. So I would say and this would be hard to argue with, that regardless of how old guys are, most of their year is set up in the summer. Rarely do guys have bad summers and come back and have great years. I'm going to play him a little bit more and a little bit more and hopefully it can be positive and like I said be a springboard into his summer."
“It’s super exciting," fellow guard Dennis Smith Jr. said of Bouknight's development. "I don’t think NBA fans understand how talented Bouk really is. You can watch him make 20 3s in a row, and that’s regular for him. Super talented, super athletic, so for him to come in and have an impact like that, especially after what he did in the G (League) the other night, I think that’s major for his confidence, and it was a big lift for our team tonight. We needed it.”
You can follow us for future coverage by liking us on Facebook & following us on Twitter:
Facebook - All Hornets
Twitter - @All_Hornets and Schuyler Callihan at @Callihan_.
