How did the Hornets' Three First Round Picks in Wednesday Night's Game Perform?

Despite winning their first game of the Summer League over the Orlando Magic, it seems more like revenge for how the Charlotte Hornets 2025-26 season ended rather than a display of talent.

The Hornets entered Wednesday night's matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks fresh off of dropping three straight games, and Wednesday was no different. While Charlotte cleaned up their turnovers, their 7/28 three-point shooting compared to Milwaukee's 19/45 was too much for the Hornets to combat.

Charlotte will look to end the Summer League with a win on Friday, but as for Wednesday, they fell to the Bucks 110-91. Three of Charlotte's last five first-round picks saw action Friday night. So, how did they perform in the loss?

Hannes Steinbach

After a strong 15 point, 11 rebound start to his NBA (Summer League) career, Steinbach seemingly cooled off with 7 points, and then 8 points in his following outings.

The 14th overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft put on a show on Wednesday night, though, where he recorded 27 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal, and hauled in 7 offensive rebounds. Steinbach was extremely impressive in the Hornets loss, where he demonstrated how high the ceiling truly is.

His minutes with Moussa Diabaté will be a must-watch for NBA fans, and a nightmare for the opposing frontcourt defensively.

Tidjane Salaün

Just a few short hours ago, I wrote an article about how Tidjane Salaün was putting together a disappointing Summer League, and that it would be an uphill battle for him to grab a spot in the rotation for the 2026-27 season.

Well, Salaün pleasantly surprised me on Wednesday night.

The 2024 sixth overall pick had an extremely hot start to his night, and did not cool off. He finished with 21 points, 2 rebounds, 4 steals, shot 8/12 from the field, and 2/6 from three. Salaün showed that he was the best player on the court, something that shuld have been clear with him being the highest selection of all the players on the court.

If Salaün continues to perform like that, a transition into a rotational role for the Hornets is no longer a matter of if, rather, when.

Christian Anderson

After hitting his first three/shot of the ballgame, Anderson was not able to find that stroke again. He shot a disappointing 1/8 from the field, and 1/6 from three.

That being said, Anderson still was impressive. With question marks surrounding the Hornets' guard depth after the team dealt LaMelo Ball a few weeks ago, Anderson made it known that he has the ability to playmake off the bench.

During Charlotte's loss to Boston three days ago, the Hornets left several potential assists on the board from Anderson, who showed he had a clear feel for the game as a playmaker. The Hornets made sure on Wednesday that those turnovers and missed shots were turned into buckets, and Anderson finished the night with 10 assists.

Despite his rough shooting, Anderson was able to demonstrate that he has the ability to still impact the game when his jumper is not falling, something that will keep him around the NBA.

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