Hornets' rotation featured a big surprise in opening night victory over Nets

The Charlotte Hornets treated their sellout crowd to a triumphant opening night victory on Wednesday at the newly renovated Spectrum Center. The Hornets dominated the Brooklyn Nets to the tune of a 136-117 win.

Charlotte’s stars came out to play. Brandon Miller (25 points) and LaMelo Ball (20 points) led the Bugs in scoring, and Collin Sexton led the Hornets’ bench with 15 points.

Head coach Charles Lee featured 10 guys in his rotation, nine of whom finished with 10 points or more. The one player who didn’t, however, still showed his value, and he was also the most surprising element of Lee’s opening night game plan.

Sion James surprisingly featured in the Hornets’ opening night rotation, and he showed why

No. 33 overall pick Sion James was surprisingly included in Lee’s rotation on Wednesday over a couple of other wing options, Liam McNeeley and Pat Connaughton.

While many people would have expected either McNeeley or Connaughton to play, James made his head coach look good for giving him 17 minutes, as the former Duke Blue Devil did nothing but add to winning while he was on the floor, providing excellent effort on defense and on the glass.

James finished with a modest but well-rounded stat line — two points, four rebounds, two assists, one block, and notably, zero turnovers.

His first career bucket in the first quarter came in appropriate fashion: James crashed the offensive glass, snagged a rebound, and then used his quickness and strength to maneuver around Nets' Noah Clowney and rise up for a two-handed flush.

First career bucket for Sion James, and it of course came with courtesty of his motor and winning a loose ball https://t.co/tvIwNKx7VN pic.twitter.com/fmBCAHLknU
— Brian Geisinger (@bgeis_bird) October 23, 2025

Just a couple of possessions prior, James had already asserted himself defensively with a weak-side rejection of Michael Porter Jr.

Sion James with the block!! pic.twitter.com/HDU1Q2HM5G
— Blue Devils (@BlueDevils) October 22, 2025

James's physicality and athleticism immediately appeared to fit like a glove alongside Charlotte's other players.

While James isn't particularly tall for an NBA guard at 6-foot-4, his absurd, NFL-worthy strength gives him the ability to compete with wings and bigs around the basket. Notice how he got the best of Clowney (6-foot-9) and Porter (6-foot-10) within two minutes of game action.

When you combine James's physical gifts with his basketball IQ, his selflessness, and his lack of fear in big moments (he's coming from the bright lights of Duke), you begin to see why Lee views James as an ideal NBA role player already.

Sion James’ game is on another level now that the lights are on. In those exhibition games (preseason and summer league), you could see the hustle but it was nothing to write home about.

Now that the games count, the extra passes, the hustle, and the defense all pop off the…
— Darian 🐦‍⬛ (@truzzbuzz) October 23, 2025

Whereas a guy like McNeeley obviously has way more upside offensively, James's defensive traits might make him a better complement in many situations to Charlotte's top players, especially since the Hornets already have enough scoring, and it's defense they need to worry about.

Lee's selection of James for the rotation shows that the head coach has a strong grasp of how to construct a dynamic rotation. You don't simply play your 10 most talented players. Fit matters. Avoiding redundant skill sets matters.

James is never going to be a go-to scoring option on an NBA team, but in just 17 minutes of his first NBA game, he already displayed how he can be a valuable bench player for anyone.

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