Charlotte Hornets End-of-Year Awards: Who Rose, Who Delivered, Who Surprised

The Charlotte Hornets had a tremendous year, despite another embarrassing elimination in the Play-In Tournament. They improved their win total from the previous season by 25, found another all-star level player in Kon Knueppel, and now have a taste of what it's going to take to get over the hump and be a contender in the East

With the season now behind us, let's hand out some hardware, shall we?

Most Valuable Player: LaMelo Ball

Apr 14, 2026; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (1) drives to the basket past Miami Heat guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. (11) for the game winning basket 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 | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Playing in 72 games would have felt like a Hornets fan's dream a year ago. Forget the stats he put up; just the pure fact that he was available for essentially the entire season is what made this season such a success. As we've noticed in years past, when he's not on the floor, the Hornets are a completely different team. He may not be the No. 1 scorer on the roster every night, but he is the straw that stirs the drink for this club.

As far as his actual play, we saw a more polished version of him. There weren't nearly as many poor decisions or circus acts, and defensively, he played with more intensity and desire. He turned the corner this season in more ways than one and is the main reason the organization has a bright future.

Most Improved Player: Moussa Diabaté

Mar 28, 2026; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Charlotte Hornets forward Moussa Diabaté (14) walks back down the court during the third quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Brian Westerholt-Imagn Images | Brian Westerholt-Imagn Images

A case could be made for Brandon Miller, but Moussa is my pick. I mean, the man was on a two-way contract, not all that long ago, and he had primarily been a backup, including at the start of this season. Once Charles Lee made the switch to the starting lineup, this team took off. His energy and effort are infectious. When your head coach starts comparing you to Dennis Rodman and Ben Wallace, you're doing something right.

Rookie of the Year: Kon Knueppel

Apr 12, 2026; New York, New York, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Kon Knueppel (7) dribbles up court against the New York Knicks during the first half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

I mean, do I really need to go in-depth here? No, but I will anyway. But first, a tip of the hat to Ryan Kalkbrenner and Sion James for the impact they were able to have as well. Liam McNeeley did some great things down in Greensboro, helping the Swarm to a championship, so in all, we can say that Jeff Peterson went a perfect 4/4 with this rookie class

Kon didn't just make a bunch of threes; he created plays for others, played with maximum effort, and more than held his own on the defensive end, which was a concern for everyone coming out of college. No one saw Knueppel having the type of year he had, and I'm sure the Hornets' front office would be the first to admit that he even passed their expectations.

Defensive Player of the Year: Sion James

I could have gone with Diabaté here, but there were too many occasions where he was pushed around and offered very little resistance in the paint. The matchups against physical teams did not go his way whatsoever. For Sion, though, he had the toughest assignment virtually every night, guarding the opposing team's best scorer when he was on the floor. Because of his size and physicality, Charles Lee even put him on some bigs occassionally to try and disrupt things. He's far from a polished product, but he has incredible potential on that end of the floor.

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