Brandon Miller's leap as a playmaker is spearheading the Charlotte Hornets' growth

Brandon Miller's evolution as a two-way force is happening right before our eyes.

The foundation of Miller's burgeoning well-rounded skill set will always be his deadly three-point shot which finally came online in last night's win against the Atlanta Hawks. The third-year swingman has struggled from beyond the arc for the majority of the season as he is now shooting 33% on three-pointers after a 4/7 shooting performance on Thursday.

To compound his scoring acumen, Miller is a staunch help defender. We've seen him use his plus wingspan to close off passing lanes in the gaps and knock away shots from obscure angles (Miller's 1.8% block percentage is in the 98th percentile among wings).

Oh, and he can also do this.

"BRANDON MILLER, HOW DO YOU DO!?"

The Hornets wing was on a mission to the rim 😱

Tap to watch: https://t.co/Sk4koY6y5v pic.twitter.com/tjyIWLBslz
— NBA (@NBA) December 19, 2025

However, the biggest improvement in Miller's game has come in his ability to read defensive coverages and operate as a jumbo playmaker on the wing.

His assist percentage has steadily increased throughout his career and is currently peaking at 20.8% in his 11 games played this season. In the first quarter of last night's victory, Miller handled the ball in Charlotte's five-out zoom and double drag actions, scanned the defense, and hit the correct pass time and time again, leading to bucket after bucket in the Hornets hot start.

Thought Brandon Miller’s really read the floor well last night (8 AST, 1 TO).

Hornets go to their ‘Stack Out 77’ action here - Miller reads the help and throws the right pass to Knueppel in the corner who attacks the tilted defense. pic.twitter.com/6Yn4L0C5jz
— Matt Alquiza (@malquiza8) December 19, 2025

To close out the third quarter, Miller dished a pair of assists off a live dribble with his off-hand that were well-drilled in his time away from 5-on-5 basketball while rehabbing his wrist injury this summer. He's borderline unguardable when his jumper falls like it did against Atlanta and he's seeing the matrix with his passing vision.

Back-to-back possession with Brandon Miller assisting on a left-handed live-dribble pass.

That one to Moussa was super impressive. pic.twitter.com/NnXmd1gJ4p
— Richie (@richierandall) December 19, 2025

'I had a whole summer to myself working on that left hand stuff, so I think I can take some credit with the summer workouts with my left hand,' said Miller following the win.

Brandon Miller has spoken at length about his desire to be come an 'elite two-way' player, and we've seen brief glimmers of that goal coming to fruition. His overall impact in the win was outstanding, and the Hornets' ceiling as an offense expands tremendously when Miller plays unselfish basketball like he did against Atlanta.

When the entire trio is healthy, LaMelo Ball, Kon Knueppel, and Miller create unsolvable problems for opposing defenses. The marriage of shooting touch, downhill driving ability, high basketball IQ, and visionary passing that each of those three players possess make them a supremely dangerous three-man unit.

No matter the action Charlotte runs, Ball, Knueppel, and Miller can seamlessly rotate between roles as ball handlers, screeners, cutters, or spot up threats and stretch an opposing defense to their limit.

In 234 possessions with those three on the floor, Charlotte's offensive rating is 132.9, which is in the 100th percentile per Cleaning the Glass. The Hornets aren't just plain good when Ball, Miller, and Knueppel share the floor; they're elite. And Miller's leap as a playmaker is one of the defining traits of that group.

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