Charlotte's PJ Hall: The Player Coaches Love, The Friend Teammates Need

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – After waking up early to make an hour’s drive up S.C.’s Interstate 85 – the same drive, if taken in reverse, that takes you to Clemson, S.C. – I had arrived.

It took five minutes after walking into the parent’s house of Charlotte Hornets’ two-way F/C PJ Hall to know I was in for an incredible profile.

48 hours before I first met Mr. Jerome and Mrs. Melanie Hall, though? I wasn’t sure if the profile would happen at all.

So let’s get the elephant out of the room, first.

A fractured ankle suffered by PJ Hall during the Greensboro Swarm’s run to a G-League Finals victory is far from the worst recovery Hall’s dealt with in his history.

Hall played through a torn metatarsal in his left foot nearly his entire Sophomore season at Clemson. Almost directly after, Hall dislocated his knee at Clemson’s first summer practice. PJ was back by the second game of his Junior year. In fact, he finished his knee rehab two months before expected.

I asked PJ about this in our Hornets on SI Exclusive conversation, and PJ said he only missed the Citadel game as a Junior. PJ also gave a positive update on his current injury status, as it’s been over two months post-surgery:

“Yeah man. (The ankle), it’s coming along well,” Hall said. “I’m checking boxes and moving along smoothly; it feels really good. It was a pretty easy surgery, it went really smoothly.”

I asked Hall after if his history of injury overcome made him feel “built” to handle this ankle recovery:

“I think there’s a factor of toughness to it,” PJ responded. “Growing up around my mom and dad, it was a, ‘rub some dirt in it,’ thing (with injuries).

“Actually, funny story: I don’t remember what the situation was, but I jammed my finger; in school, or something. And I was on the car ride home, and I was like, ‘Mom, my finger hurts. I jammed it,’ and she said, ‘We don’t complain about jammed fingers.’ I was like, ‘Alright Mama,’ I’m like seven at the time, but okay. I just like to think of it like a Good ‘Ol Boy from the South: You can play through stuff, and rub some dirt in it.”

PJ has taken this jammed-finger mentality and applied it ever since: In life, and certainly with this ankle rehab.

“He was in a much better place than maybe even I anticipated,” Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said during our 1-on-1 about PJ. “I mean, he was frustrated; he was upset. But I think he felt like what he did last year has given him real hope and encouragement. I think that’s why he’s attacking things so well. He was in a good place.”

Brownell said that PJ has also taken the route of a good pro this summer: Going the extra mile, and leveling up his game by working out in Clemson when he’s at home in S.C. away from the Hornets.

I think he’s really committed,” Brownell said. “One thing is, he’s been here with our (Clemson) trainers, strength coaches. This is where he’s been working out and getting treatment. He’s been very focused; driven. I think that comes off of the success he started to experience at the end of last year.

“This current injury, one thing we talked about when it happened is, (PJ) really wasn’t upset; he was more just bummed because of where he thought he was going and what was happening. But it wasn’t debilitating in any way that he’s so beat up mentally. He didn’t even talk about, ‘Oh, I’ve got to go through all of this again.’ He’s more of, ‘I know what I have to do.’ He’s clear purpose, and clear mind.”

At least this time around, PJ is using crutches to get around while he heals. That’s already a win for PJ compared to… past times.

One of the last times PJ had a lower extremity out of service, he was on a scooter rather than the crutches he has now.

PJ has been left with a… sour memory when discussing the topic of motorized injury apparati.

“I’ll be able to walk down the aisle (for my wedding),” PJ said while we were discussing his recovery.

I had just mentioned to Hall that his Dad told his Bible study group – the morning myself and PJ’s parents spoke – that PJ felt great during rehab. Jerome also told them that if healing took longer than expected, it’d be funny if PJ went down the aisle on a scooter, where Mr. Hall did his best PJ-on-a-scooter impression whilst yelling, “Hey, everybody! Hey! Let’s do this thing!”

He didn’t sound very much like PJ. To be clear, neither did I when recalling this story to Hall. But this joke goes to show how truly unbothered PJ’s parents were about the ankle.

“If I had to be on something, I wouldn’t be on a scooter. I don’t trust myself on scooters,” PJ told me in rebuttal to his father’s quip.

“When I had my foot injury (at Clemson), I got put on a scooter after that surgery, and dude, these scooters? They’re not that big. They’re narrow, and the wheels are kind of narrow, and I don’t have a very low center of gravity. So, they’re not gonna tip side to side, but they are a little unstable. A couple of times, I fell; but one time? I was going to study hall, hit a pebble, and went over the handlebars. So I don’t mess with the scooters. So, whenever I had this injury, I was like, ‘If they put me on a scooter, as much as I hate these crutches, I don’t know if I want to do that (scooter again).’”

All this injury talk and a funny anecdote later to say:

PJ Hall deserves better coverage than to focus solely on a recent injury; I hope you’ll come to that same conclusion as quickly as I did. PJ will make a full recovery, and with the array of other things I’ve learned about him? It’d be terrible of me to choose to focus on the uncontrollable.

I’d be lying, though, if I sat here and told you I was not worried, at initial discovery.

In fact, I met PJ’s parents at their home due to my fear less than 72 hours after Hall had successful ankle surgery in New York City.

That was far from my original plan. By April 1st, nine days before the Greensboro Swarm’s most recent NBA G-League Finals victory, I did have a plan.

“Terrible to reach out when PJ is in the midst of the G-League playoffs,” I told myself. “That’s rude. Family is likely traveling; I’ll wait until the G’s playoffs are over.”

Then, on April 2nd, the metaphorical elephant stomped in, and a picture of PJ surfaced in a walking boot. His fractured ankle was confirmed publicly on April 3rd. In retrospect, I was more distraught than PJ — Paul for his grandfather, Jerome for his dad — was himself after his own injury.

I reached out to Mrs. Melanie, or Momma Mel, as most of Hall’s childhood friends know her, not long after the confirmation.

Three days after my inquiry I pulled into their driveway – my early morning I-85 destination, if you remember – and Mrs. Hall was immediately so welcoming. The form of sincerity that showed me right away where PJ’s eccentricity comes from.

“I’m a talker, I’ll talk your ear off,” was the end of PJ’s first sentence to me when we spoke on the phone. I found out when I walked in his parents door that PJ got that honestly from his Mom.

It’s okay to be a talker when you have something interesting to say.

Mrs. Hall is the type of candid that is critical to making anyone feel comfortable enough to talk to talk as strangers for 2+ hours. Those are the talks I love; as a writer, but as a person, too. That’s the kind of conversation PJ’s parents and I had just a few days’ time after I was so distraught for what turned out to be absolutely no reason at all.

While I’ve spoken to Hall’s parents, Clemson HC Brad Brownell, Dorman High School (S.C.) HC Thomas Ryan, PJ’s former AAU coach Curt Wheeler (Upward Stars, S.C.), and Hall’s former HS teammate and childhood friend Myles Tate:

This first moment with Mr. and Mrs. Hall is one I won’t forget.

So talk we did. We got halfway through our talk, and at some point it hit me. Not only was PJ Hall’s outward appearance as a kind person real: It ran deep.

It’s the people the Hall’s are. They showed me, a complete stranger, the form of kindness that I try to have myself despite my shortcomings. Sincerity that overcomes through God and Faith. The rare people who choose to try and be better than the accumulation of bad things that have happened to them.

The Halls display this rare kindness to the world, and to PJ, Thayer, and Chris, on a daily basis.

“That family is incredibly important to me,” said Curt Wheeler, Hall’s former AAU Coach.

This isn’t a quote from Wheeler, but rather, a text message. The end of one, at least. It was his first text message to me in response to an interview inquiry. For me, that message quickly reiterated the impact PJ’s entire family has made on the lives around them.

Then, the exact same thing was said in abundance about PJ’s family from everyone else I interviewed for this profile.

You can imagine why all of their children, not just PJ – but Thayer and Chris, as well – were each capable of flourishing into college athletes in their own rights.

Feels like a fair compromise for a few silently suffered jammed fingers.

All were athletes in their own respects; each carved a unique path. In fact, PJ’s brother Chris had one of the most unique paths to college athletics I’ve heard in some time. It’s a story of resilience that seemed to me was still inspiring PJ to this very day.

“‘I just want to wear the warmup. That’s all I want,” is what Mrs. Melanie recalls her oldest son Chris saying before his senior year.

“(Chris) played Church ball, Men’s league’s, travel ball. He would go play with Jerome and in city leagues; he never gave up. The game – (he) loved it. His senior year he had decided he wasn’t going out. He wanted to go to college; have fun his senior year.”

Chris would slowly change his mind after Dorman Coach Thomas Ryan offered a spot on the scout team before school began. One thing led to another, and Chris began playing higher-level travel ball before the Dorman season began in the winter.

PJ’s brother took advantage of a small window of opportunity all because he decided to try once more; by graduation, Chris fielded multiple offers to play collegiately after one varsity season.

“Well as a kid, I really didn’t understand it. ‘Oh, my brother made the team. Oh, he’s playing now. Oh, he’s going to college,’” PJ Hall told me after I asked about Chris.

“In my mind, I can think back to whenever I was a kid, I kind of always thought that I was gonna go play college basketball and go to the NBA. Even as a six year-old. I just thought there was nothing to it. Obviously that’s not true. So you don’t think much of it, you’re just thinking it’s the next step in (Chris’) journey. But I'm getting goosebumps right now thinking about what he went through, man. It was truly remarkable.”

PJ continued to gush about his brother afterwards.

“He didn’t make the high school team until his senior year. 15th chair. But (Chris) also grew a couple inches, and was about 6’7 as a senior. He had only been like 6’5 before, and he was a big man.”

Mrs. Hall told me that when Dorman’s football team went to State, it kept a lot of the dual-sport athletes away from basketball early in the season. This one wrinkle in time led to way more playing time for Chris than expected, and inevitably to his multiple offers.

“Then he went onto Anderson and grew two more inches,” PJ added. “I’m a jumper. I have athleticism – people definitely don’t expect it but it’s kind of part of my player profile – Thayer was an athlete, too; but Chris was a freak. Eastbays, double-clutch 360 (dunks). It was actually wild. We’re the same kind of person; our builds. But I have really strong legs, and not as strong an upper body. (Chris) had runner’s legs and this Dwight Howard upper body, and he could run forever. You should have seen him when he was in college. I’m about 245-ish. (Chris) got up to like 245-250. I mean, he was huge. I’m not exaggerating – he was a freak. If the portal was a thing back then, like it is now? He would’ve been a bottom-level mid-major minimum, for sure.”

PJ, Chris, and Thayer were always close growing up. Always competitive, as siblings tend to be, but incredibly close. The three siblings’ bond was why I took so much time letting PJ brag on what they meant to him.

PJ’s sister Thayer was the No. 1 volleyball recruit in the entire nation coming out of high-school; she’s only 2 years older than PJ. She got married to New York Yankees’ starting pitcher Ryan Weathers a few years ago, and they just welcomed their first child in April.

“Ever since COVID, we were already super tight,” PJ said. “But I would say me and my sister both got a lot closer with my older brother, even though we already were. There’s a bigger age difference (between us and Chris), so whenever everyone came back home, we were grown up. Me being the youngest, I was the pest when I was a kid. So whenever I was 17/18 and (Chris is) back in the house because of COVID, we really got close in that time. Now he’s in Greenville (S.C.); he actually called me last night. I need to call him back. We see each other all the time.”

Shortly after COVID began, PJ had already left Dorman high school as the No. 1 overall player in South Carolina, he’d won three state championships, and signed his national letter of intent to stay home and play at Clemson. They were all home together the summer before PJ began college.

“It was a new life experience for all of us,” Clemson head coach Brad Brownell told me about PJ starting college right after the lockdown.

Hall was going to Clemson as Brownell’s highest-ever ranked national recruit; barely edging out former Tigers’ F Donte Grantham for that throne. The big difference for PJ going into college:

PJ — uniquely, yet similarly to his older brother — didn’t start 100% focusing on basketball until his Freshman year at Dorman. Hall played baseball from the time he was a toddler, all the way until 9th grade. There was still plenty of room at Clemson for PJ to blossom on the mental side, despite his and Coach Thomas Ryan’s SCHSL 5A Basketball dominance.

Like in the NBA, having veteran mentors is equally important in college if you want a player to end up transitioning correctly and blossoming mentally. PJ Hall had a great one in former Clemson F/C Aamir Simms – a senior when PJ first arrived. Simms was also who PJ prepared for battle against daily in practice. That alone was a big adjustment for Hall.

PJ didn’t shy away from the standard to which Simms or Brownell held him to; he rose to it. Brownell came at his happy-go-lucky personality with his best carving knife to try and “Round off the edges,” as he called it. Brownell saw PJ’s potential, and wanted to push him to be better at every turn possible; Clemson’s head coach even mentioned that he “Coached PJ harder than most.”

I was always told the people who push you to be the best version of yourself are the people who have your best interest at heart. By the way PJ handled the hard coaching for four years, he likely heard that somewhere down the line in his life, too.

“Sometimes when you’re a super talented player like PJ was and heralded coming in,” Coach Brownell began as we discussed how PJ isn’t a finished product. “We had some older guys (I.e. Aamir Simms), so he just had to earn his spurs like everybody did; and maybe there were some things, both physically and mentally, that he was a little further behind (in) than maybe he realized.

“Like a lot of guys who are gifted athletically, the mental part comes second because you're able to dominate for so long with your physical tools, and we felt that way with PJ. It took time for him to understand some of the stuff within the system, and get better at all that. There’s no question (he can still grow mentally in the NBA). I’m sure that’s been part of his development as he’s continued. I don’t care who you are: When you leave the college game and go to the pro game, the pro game is different. The defensive rules, the spacing, the shot clock, speed, the athleticism. I mean it’s so much faster (than college), and there’s gonna be a learning curve for most young guys on that. I’m sure that’s where PJ’s improved in the past year or two.”

PJ rose to meet each challenge Clemson offered him: Brownell’s coaching, COVID’s obstacles, adjustment as a freshman, injuries in both his sophomore and junior years, and falling headfirst over a scooter.

PJ stood up when each challenge knocked him down. Now, staring down a chance at an NBA roster spot, Hall certainly won’t back down from a mere hardship now.

It’s a character trait a lot of NBA players don’t get credit for. Hardships can cripple players, and it shouldn’t be taken lightly when a player tackles their plights with admirable mental fortitude.

This kind of drive on and off-court is why Charlotte brought Hall back so quickly. After PJ performed brilliantly in ‘25 Summer League, Charlotte finished the offseason without signing him to a deal. The Grizzlies were quick to scoop PJ for one of their two-way spots when the Hornets chose otherwise.

Due to a myriad of reasons — none of which were PJ, I was told — Hall would be let go by Memphis in November of ‘25.

Charlotte swooped in with immediacy after the Grizzlies’ decision, and Charlotte got Hall regrouped with the Swarm afterwards. By December 23rd, Charlotte released Drew Peterson from his two-way contract. Charlotte signed PJ to the vacancy on Dec. 24th after he’d spent over a month on the Swarm’s roster post-Memphis without a two-way deal.

It’s not just the mental side of PJ’s game or his kindness alone that drew Charlotte to Hall, either.

When PJ steps in between those lines on the hardwood, he has that ability all NBA players need to flip a switch. More than most, the difference with PJ is that when that switch is off, he’s incredibly selfless. Some guys can flip that switch on-court, but don’t always end up as great teammates off-court.

This is what “Hornets DNA” has been about for Hornets GM Jeff Peterson and head coach Charles Lee: Finding guys who fit that mold of on-court killer, but making it someone who would also be the first to put team accolades above himself.

PJ has the ability to do both.

Hall’s close friend and former Dorman teammate Myles Tate – who currently plays overseas in Cyprus – was quick to refer to that on-court switch as PJ’s swagger. Tate said PJ never turned it off.

“A specific moment? There’s not a specific moment,” Tate told me when I asked if there was a story which stood out.

“There’s not a specific moment, because he did it every game… Especially on defense. If PJ’s blocking a shot out of bounds, he’s not just going to let it go out of bounds. You’re going to hear about it, and he’s going to look at you. PJ’s a good dude, like we’ve been talking about; but on the court? He’s going to kill you. We needed an enforcer – and that’s what he is. He’s always been that. He’s gonna let you know that he blocked your shot, and he’s gonna tell you not to come back in the paint.”

For all his ability to be an enforcer, Brownell raved more than anything about the flip-side of PJ Hall I hinted at earlier; the balance of being a killer on-court whilst being the highest-character teammate:

“Yeah he’ll be elite (in the locker room). He’s an elite team-guy,” Brownell was quick to respond with a happy grin. The kind of smirk that led me to believe Brownell was recalling all of PJ’s great moments in real time while answering.

“For all that (PJ) accomplished here in his career – all the individual awards – there’s not one second (PJ) wouldn’t trade any of it for more team accolades and team awards. He’s an incredible mentor to the young guys, just like Aamir (Simms) was to him. And the passion that (PJ) plays with. The day-to-day way that he carries himself in terms of, not just coming in and working, but enjoying the journey (too). PJ’s a guy that wants to have a good time. He wants to enjoy it, he’s gonna invest in people. But he’s also competitive enough, that when he gets pissed off? He’s not opposed to saying something to somebody – opponent or teammate – if he thinks it’s getting in the way of winning. Those are things you have to do if you want to be a good leader and have respect. He is 100% about team and winning, and was always that way here. That’s not always true when a guy is as good a player as he was.”

Mr. Hall was adamant how this ability of PJ’s to encourage and be an elite teammate has immediately translated into his time with the Greensboro Swarm. His dad said PJ’s been not only an elite player but also an elite cheerleader since Dorman.

“(Rick Lewis/Phenom Hoops) hosted a tournament at Christmas and it was the year at Dorman PJ had the initial little kneecap issue,” Jerome Hall said. “So he was coming back, but he was not back when they went up there to Rock Hill. PJ was named to the All-Tournament Team because of his cheerleading on the side of the bench for his teammates… They were playing some teams where PJ probably should’ve been on the floor. He wasn't quite there yet. But Rick (Lewis) always said that was his biggest draw to PJ. Not because of his talent, but the fact that even when he’s on the bench, that’s just the way he acts. He’s supportive of his other people.”

While PJ made the All-NBA G-League Third Team this past season, his awards this time around weren’t due to cheerleading alone. Ultimately, though, PJ’s good run of play and Third-Team selection would have never come around had PJ not been the kind of teammate willing to be a cheerleader.

The Greensboro Swarm as a whole have taken on this attitude, too; it’s why PJ fits in like a glove with head coach DJ Bakker’s team.

“That goes to (show) what’s going on in Greensboro right now,” Mr. Hall continued after his cheerleader bit. “I mean they’ve got guys: Liam’s had 35 point games. Tidjane (Salaun) has had 35 point games. (Marcus) Garrett. Antonio Williams. PJ’s had some. PJ’s been very consistent all throughout the year, but they genuinely don’t care who scores the most points. They just want to win the game.”

Not only did the Greensboro Swarm win the NBA G-League Championship despite missing one of their prime contributors in Hall, but his teammates showed the same love Hall undoubtedly would have had the roles been reversed; the Swarm facetimed PJ from the locker room after they’d won the trophy and celebrated with Hall on the phone briefly.

This is the exact same culture the Hornets themselves are trying to cultivate, and it speaks volumes that it’s bled into the Swarm as it has. PJ echoed the same sentiment about what the Hornets are building.

“Yeah man, (the team chemistry) it really is something special,” Hall said. “I’ve been around – not just in the NBA, but anywhere: High school, college, NBA – I’ve been around teams and groups that aren’t perfectly meshed. Last year, when I got here mid-year, they all welcomed me with open arms. It helps a little because I played Summer League and knew some of the guys.

“But I remember getting here for Summer League and seeing what Jeff (Peterson) and Charles (Lee) had going, and just knowing, ‘Yeah, they’ve done a great job. They’ve brought in the right pieces.’ Then, with that past draft, they really brought in pieces to connect dots. At the beginning of the year – I wasn’t with them at this time – but it was a little bit of a struggle getting off the ground at the start (of the season). I think that was more so guys just figuring out how to play with each other. I mean it was: You had four new rookies, a couple of other guys you brought in and stuff (too). It’s a new team. Then, once it clicked? I mean, it clicked, and guys meshed. Whenever I got here, it was like it was completely seamless. The camaraderie is real; the stuff that Jeff (Peterson) and C Lee have built here is really special, and so is what they’re continuing to build.”

I then rambled to PJ about one of my favorite Hornets’ quotes; a quote I reference far too often, but used nonetheless due to my adoration.

I talked to Hall about a 2014 quote Al Jefferson gave to the legendary Hornets’ beat writer for the Observer, Rick Bonnell. This quote was after the Bobcats made the playoffs, Jefferson made Third-Team All-NBA, and optimism about Charlotte basketball was as high as it’d been in years.

Al’s first Bobcats’ year was his 10th season: Three years prior with Boston, Utah, and Minnesota before Charlotte. Yet, despite nine seasons elsewhere, Jefferson was quick to tell Bonnell that the 2013-2014 Bobcats was the first time he’d ever played on an NBA team where everyone was team-first, win-first.

I told PJ this quote has always spoken to me because it’s a perfect depiction of why chemistry is one of the most under-discussed things about crafting a winning NBA team. That chemistry isn’t just important; it’s borderline necessary to be successful. I asked PJ whether or not he agreed with my sentiment garnered from Al Jefferson’s 12 year-old quote:

“Yeah, man (I would agree),” Hall responded. “That (anecdote) really speaks to the guys like Melo (Ball), and also Grant (Williams). Earlier in the year, Melo had to, during back to back’s, not start games so he could play more important minutes; he was on restriction. Grant was not allowed to play second halves of back to back’s. So sitting stuff like that out, and sacrificing for your team (was normal here). Melo is more, you know – he is sacrificing starting (games) knowing that he could. And Grant, he wants to go out there and play.

“Selfishly, (as a player) you want to go play and try and contribute. But you have to know that, ‘Hey, if I get hurt – that would be really detrimental to the team.’ So anything like that? Sacrificing pride, or whatever it may be? Guys did that on this team. That was really cool to watch because, in the NBA, there are so many egos. There’s so many agendas; individual agendas. Guys (here) really seem to have just been like, ‘We really want to do something special in Charlotte.’”

This Hornets team and their chemistry runs deeper than self-sacrifice. From the speed Uno games on the plane that we’ve seen reported on before, to Charles Lee sprinting full-speed into the locker room with a hard hat on, “Hornets DNA” isn’t about sacrifice for sacrifice’s sake. These guys really care about one another, and that is what “Hornets DNA” is truly about. It’s about relinquishing your selfish agendas in hopes that, if your team reaches the highest heights, you will do the same as a byproduct.

Coach Brownell felt the same way. “High character folks, and people who put the team first? Winning is a byproduct,” He said. “I think that’s what PJ’s grown up with.”

It wasn’t just his family who held this mentality while PJ grew up: Hall’s friends had it, too. When I talked to his friend and former teammate Myles Tate, we spoke about PJ, yes; but also about chemistry. Myles and I discussed how being friends with PJ for so long, and having that prior relationship translated to the court.

“I’ve seen PJ grow his game, like, since we were little,” Tate said. “Literally. I’ve seen every side of PJ’s game. I’ve seen him develop a jump shot – because he always could shoot – and he always had the right hook.”

Tate’s comments right afterwards on chemistry were eerily similar to PJ’s, and we spoke two weeks before PJ and I. I’ve been hammering the importance of chemistry into my readers’ heads for months. Now I have two pro players backing me up on my go-to Al Jefferson quote? C’mon.

“(Having chemistry) is the only way I feel like you can be connected as a team,” Tate said. “You’re not gonna be a good player unless you push yourself to a certain limit. But team goals need to outweigh those personal agendas, because the more you win and the more you come together as a team? Those (personal) goals become more probable.

“A lot of teams – on any level: Pro, middle school, AAU, high school, they don’t understand how important the chemistry part is. PJ’s not going to be there when I get beat, if I don’t know him as a person. If I don't know what his family dynamic is; if I don’t know what he’s been through off the court. He’s not gonna want to help me on defense, he’s not gonna want to set me screens if we don’t (care). If you learn your teammates, the better chance you’re going to have to be a more connected team; and honestly, the more connected team when it gets hard? That’s who wins.”

If there’s anything the Hornets were last year, it was connected.

Whether it was time at Kon Knueppel’s childhood home eating chicken fajitas, speed Uno, or Pat Connaughton’s Marshall Mathers’ impersonation…

The Hornets’ teammates, PJ included, had some interesting bonding moments last season, to say the least. The one that piqued my interest most, in regards to our subject?

A certain tale about a Tupperware container, Kon Knueppel’s inability to be stealthy, and LaMelo Ball’s disappointment when PJ got sent down to the Swarm. Our adventure in team bonding began when I asked Mr. And Mrs. Hall if PJ had any guilty pleasures.

“PJ lives, and DIES, for his Mother’s homemade chocolate chip cookies,” Jerome Hall told me with a massive grin. PJ’s mom slapped her knees and said, “I wish I had the ingredients! I have dough, but I could’ve made you some. They are really good…”

Jerome would continue right after his wife’s adage with clear excitement on his face to further tease his son. “Now, I will preface this by saying, (Melanie) would be a millionaire if she could mass bake them. They are incredible. But, PJ makes sure he gets his order in. It doesn’t matter what time of the night, it doesn’t matter what time of the day. Ends of the Earth to get the cookies ready.”

This cookie ordeal is a borderline addiction for PJ, as he’ll openly admit. So naturally, PJ had them on his person as he prepared to go on a road trip with the Hornets.

“So, I made (PJ) some cookies, and they were in this round tupperware container,” Mrs. Hall said. “(PJ’s) going up the plane steps holding it; it’s in his (Hornets) departure picture on social media. Well, Thayer texted me (about the picture) – because PJ doesn’t care! He’s holding a pillow (too). I think he’s actually proud, like ‘Haha! I got cookies!’”

PJ’s Mom further enlightened me on the cookie conundrum:

“Thayer was like, ‘Mom. You have to send him something he can pack. He should not be carrying those cookies. He looks ridiculous!’ (PJ) gets on the plane, and I was teasing him about it: I zoomed in on the picture, I put eyeballs on it, and sent him a text and said, ‘I see my cookies!’

“And PJ said (back), ‘Yeah dude, I gotta get a smaller container, because I didn’t have enough room in my bag for that (one).’ And Melo was like, ‘Give it up PJ,’ (LaMelo) ate one, and he was like, ‘Damnnnn!’ Then (PJ told me) everybody wanted one. PJ said, ‘My cookies were gone!’ Melo was like – when PJ’s first transfer back to Greensboro happened – (LaMelo) was like, ‘...How are we gonna get cookies now?’ And Kon loves them, too. So I’m like, ‘I gotta make more cookies…’”

Naturally, I had to find out more. So I spent precious allotted time asking PJ about it in our conversation. A decision I don’t regret, whatsoever.

“I was eating them,” PJ told me after I briefly described his mom’s rendition of the story.

“Well, actually, I get on the plane, and (then) I’m eating the cookies. And KON,” PJ said passive-aggressively, “(Kon) is sitting across the aisle, and sees me open it (the tupperware of cookies). He’s like, ‘Hey dude, let me get one,’ And so I’m telling myself, ‘Alright — let me try and do this discreetly.’

“But (Kon) is leaning over the aisle and taking a cookie. So then, Miles (Bridges) turns around; he probably smelled it. He turns around and sees this BUCKET of cookies. And I'm like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’ Next thing you know, (Miles) is like, ‘Oh, yoooo! Can I get one!’ Then Melo sees it, and at this point, I’m handing them out, basically.”

I then compared PJ’s conundrum to the “Pack of gum at school” dilemma, where, the moment you hand a piece out and someone sees it? You may as well kiss it goodbye.

“Exactly like that,” PJ said. “I handed out like half my cookies on that trip. So then, I had to start coming prepared. I would bring a lot of cookies and give them out. But yeah, I remember I gave one to Kon, and after Kon takes one, I’m basically already handing them out to everybody. Kon looks over at me and says, ‘Oh, dude I’m so sorry, my bad bro…’ I’m like, ‘Yeah! What do you mean! Thanks for telling me I’m sorry NOW after giving away all my freakin’ cookies!’

“I called (my mom) and told her, ‘Hey, everybody loved your cookies,’” PJ finished. “‘I need you to make me more.’ They’re great, man. They're so good. I have a problem.”

While this is all fun and PJ was just teasing his teammates, it’s truly a part of his personality as Brad Brownell and others alluded to many times. As his mom called him, at his core, PJ’s just a goofball.

He just happens to be a goofball that will kill you on the court, too.

It’s the simple things like cookies. PJ wasn’t actually mad about any of it. You’d be surprised how many guys in the league would get mad about something as simple as their mother’s beloved homemade cookies being raided.

Instead, PJ took it with a laugh, gave his teammates some hell, and immediately called his mom to make sure his teammates had more.

Well, so he could have more, too, but PJ still took care of his teammates despite their theft. PJ’s Dad told me the Hornets’ senior team has embraced PJ with open arms, and despite Kon’s cookie treachery, Jerome Hall gave glowing reviews of Kon and PJ’s other teammates.

“Kon (Knueppel) has been a good dude to PJ,” Mr. Hall said. “As well as Brandon (Miller) and LaMelo (Ball). They've all just been great. (PJ) talks about them glowingly all the time. He and Kon had the little Duke-Clemson back and forth with each other. PJ’s last couple years (at Clemson), they kind of split with Duke. But then, the last couple years (since PJ left), it’s not gone so well. But he gives Kon a hard time because they (Knueppel’s Duke team) lost at Clemson. (PJ) said Kon reached out to him the other night after all this happened (with PJ’s ankle). It’s been great.”

This isn’t some random vet mentioned here. PJ’s Dad listed off Charlotte’s three biggest stars, and said PJ spoke glowingly about each. That kind of behavior, culture, and buy-in from the very top is what drives everyone else to be better.

Ultimately, guys like PJ Hall having the kind of character I’ve accredited him with doesn’t matter unless your best players show through their own actions that it matters. That’s when you start to feel the benefit of the top to bottom buy-in.

PJ’s had the same mentorship from Charlotte’s best players that PJ himself gave to his younger teammates: past and present. The world tends to have a way of returning you the same kindness you’ve given others before.

It’s the kind of person I’ve found PJ Hall to be at every turn.

The same guy who showed up in Charlotte a few weeks ago in full support for Moussa Diabate’s NBA Hustle Award Ceremony – donning moose antlers and all – is the same guy who swears to me and his parents that he can play the harmonica.

“Oh I don’t think (I can play the harmonica). I can,” PJ told me, almost offended as I questioned his skills. He can play Broken Window Serenade by Whiskey Myers, Pink Skies by Zach Bryan, and is working on This Time by Waylon Jennings.

“(PJ) asked us one time, ‘Do you recognize this (song)?” Mrs. Melanie said about PJ’s harmonica. “Then he played it out in the driveway for us and we’re like, ‘...What is that?’ Then he told us, and I go, ‘Oh yeah!’ But (in my head) I was like, ‘Uh, uh…’”

“I had to tell him, ‘Do not take that harmonica on the (team) plane, PJ.’”

PJ drives around with one in his car so he can practice as he pleases, and PJ doesn’t just carry a harmonica, either. Brad Brownell told me that PJ also carries dog treats around with him.

“I mean, it’s crazy; one of my wife’s friends happened to be on a walk, and ran into PJ,” Brownell said. “(PJ’s car) was stopped, and PJ asked if he could give the dog a treat. The lady laughed, thought it was great. But that’s PJ. He’s just such a – he locked his keys in his car when he had the car running (once) – like, you’re gonna have some fun when PJ’s in your locker room. He’s a fun-loving guy, man.”

While it’s certain PJ can be found with a harmonica and dog treats in his car, his future with the Hornets does have an air of uncertainty to it. But what is certain, is that Charlotte’s front office, all the way to the top, feels strongly about PJ Hall as a player:

Evidenced by a memory PJ’s Mom gave me about a happenstance interaction she had with Hornets’ co-owner Rick Schnall while watching PJ in Charlotte.

“The owner, Rick (Schnall), comes up and meets us (while we’re at the game); so affable, as you might expect. But not just nice to us. Like, incredibly welcoming. But also, (Schnall) gushed over PJ, in a way to make a mom and dad emotional… the owner comes back over to us (later on that night), and he wants us to (briefly) meet his wife. She (says) she loves PJ; that’s her favorite player; her teenage son was there; that’s his favorite player. Anyway, they go away, go back to their (owner’s suite). (Our friend), tells us after, ‘Y’know, he’s not just trying to be nice. He’s not gonna say that if it’s not true.’ That made us feel even better.

“That was very reassuring, as we hope he will remain there – and we know it’s all business (if not) – but PJ hopes he’ll be there a long time, and we hope so, too. Not just for proximity. It just feels right (in Charlotte).”

By the end of this profile, I found myself hoping for the same thing; rooting for an underdog in PJ who has given himself, his faith in God, each of his team’s, and teammates everything he could give.

Dorman HC Thomas Ryan gave the best depiction of PJ, and likely the one I’ll walk away from this remembering most:

“…That’s why nobody walks away from PJ Hall not thinking, ‘This is what I want in my organization.’”

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