Can Brandon Miller Really Be the Charlotte Hornets' Franchise Player?

With the Charlotte Hornets pivoting off LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller now slots into what many around the team and fan base view as Charlotte's next franchise player heading into his fourth NBA season.

With a lucrative contract extension likely on the horizon, I think it is an important time to step back and really evaluate Miller's game. Where does he currently stand in the NBA hierarchy, and would it be in the best interest of President of Basketball Operations Jeff Peterson and the Charlotte front office to make him the player they build around moving forward?

The good

Apr 14, 2026; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Charlotte Hornets forward Brandon Miller (24) brings the ball up court against the Miami Heat during the second half during the play-in rounds between the Charlotte Hornets and the Miami Heat of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Before getting into the weeds of Miller's skill profile, it is important to acknowledge that his developmental timeline has been somewhat compromised. The 23-year-old forward spent last offseason primarily recovering from surgery to repair a torn scapholunate ligament in his right wrist and is currently rehabbing from a procedure to correct instability in his left shoulder after suffering a subluxation early last season.

It remains unclear when Miller will return to full basketball activities or whether he will be ready for training camp in late September. Time will ultimately tell.

These were two important growth offseasons for Miller, and, to me, it is fair to say that some of his on-court development and strength training have been stunted due to the time spent rehabbing. With that context in mind, where does Miller currently excel?

The high-end aspects of Miller's game are his three-level shotmaking, movement shooting, and springy athleticism. He is an incredibly malleable player who fits with almost any lineup or team across the NBA.

Miller's ability to handle a high offensive workload without it noticeably impacting him defensively also stood out to me. He made an impressive jump as a live-dribble passer and decision-maker in his third NBA season, showing much more comfort creating for both himself and his teammates.

I liked that Miller's shot diet shifted back toward the midrange. His frequency on short midrange, long midrange, and overall midrange attempts all increased this past season, and he converted those shots at roughly league-average efficiency.

One of the biggest components of Charlotte's top-five offense was utilizing the off-ball shooting gravity of Miller and Kon Knueppel. The Hornets consistently used both to either create driving lanes for teammates or as screeners in their guard-to-guard actions, where Miller was effective popping or ghosting into open shots.

Defensively, I thought Miller had his best season yet. He was certainly overtaxed on that end, and he will likely be again this upcoming season, but Miller consistently rose to the challenge. His increased event creation was especially encouraging, whether it was his shot blocking or making plays while playing in the gaps. According to dunksandthrees.com, Miller ranked in the 80th percentile in estimated defensive impact per 100 possessions.

He is not an All-Defense caliber player, but he is absolutely an asset on the defensive end and should continue to be an important piece of Head Coach Charles Lee's defensive scheme going forward.

The not-so-good

The two biggest concerns with Miller are his struggles against physicality on both ends of the floor and his overall lack of rim pressure.

When he is on the ball, Miller can get sped up early in games when defenders heat him up with ball pressure. He can become prone to ill-advised passes and turnovers in those situations. Miller finished with a 12.9% turnover percentage, which is high for a heavy-usage player, and also committed 39 lost-ball turnovers this past season.

Along with that, Miller has what I would call a mediocre handle for someone his size. He has a habit of dribbling too far away from his body at times, making it easier for defenders to tip the ball away or force him to pick up his dribble.

Miller is simply a very slight NBA wing, and until he gets bigger, which, given his frame, I honestly do not know how much bigger he can realistically become, playing through contact will probably never be one of his strengths. That, in turn, has kept him from becoming a serious rim threat or finisher in the half-court.

During his third NBA season, Miller took just 17% of his total shot attempts at the rim, ranking in the 15th percentile among wings, per Cleaning the Glass. He clearly prefers shooting over defenders rather than finishing through them. That approach also keeps him from being as efficient as you would ideally like your best player to be. Miller finished with a 53.4% effective field goal percentage, ranking in the 47th percentile among players at his position.

So what does all of this mean for Miller as Charlotte's franchise player? Well, I would say, for now, he and Knueppel can be co-franchise players, as both project as roughly top-45 to top-50 players in the NBA heading into next season.

What I also think, though, is that both need a true table-setter. Neither profiles as the type of creator you typically need as the No. 1 option on a serious championship contender. They would, however, make outstanding second and third options playing alongside a true superstar. If the goal is to realistically compete at the top of the Eastern Conference, the front office should ultimately be working to acquire that caliber of player through every avenue available over the next year or two.

That is obviously much easier said than done, but every asset Peterson continues to accumulate increases Charlotte's chances of eventually making that kind of franchise-altering move.

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