Where is the Love for Moussa Diabaté? No Most Improved Player Recognition?

Ah, Moussa Diabate. The mammal (I mean, it's technically true, right?) and Moose horns that changed the Hornets’ lives.

I’m just going to be brutally honest, for anyone who hasn’t been watching these Hornets throughout this NBA season, or until recently, because the constant NBA media barrage has guilted you into doing so.

Hornets C Moussa Diabate is very seriously one of the strongest, most mobile, and athletic undersized bigs I’ve ever seen in my life. Just all of the above in droves. It’s really absurd how much this guy affects the unseen parts of the game on every level, each night.

Especially for a 6’9 center who doesn’t have a jump shot. Except against Memphis earlier in the season (his one made three on the year). Obviously, the Grizz are discounted from the list of “serious” professional basketball teams in which a made big-man jump shot should be considered noteworthy.

“(He’s) one of the most unselfish bigs I’ve ever played with,” said trade deadline addition point guard, and North Carolina native Coby White, after the Hornets' win versus the Kings this past Tuesday, March 24th.

“A lot of bigs get an offensive rebound, their first instinct is to go up… his first instinct is to find a shooter. That’s huge for us in terms of dagger threes and creating second-chance opportunities. What Moussa does for the team can never go unnoticed.”

Right you are, Coby. It can’t, and I’ll join the calvary of helping you make sure, it doesn’t go unnoticed. Diabate is something the Charlotte franchise has searched for over a decade, maybe two, to find…

A center capable of being the Hornets’ enforcer on the court, that doesn’t doom either their offensive or defensive game plan. In some awful years for the Hornets, their centers doomed both of these things, already.

The closest comparison of a reliable, game-impacting C to Diabate is former Bobcat and Hornets C Cody Zeller. With all due respect to Zeller, Diabate’s motor in every moment of game time he sees is just a different level.

Zeller learned through trial and error during a playoff push as a rookie in 2013-2014 alongside Al Jefferson. Even then, coach Steve Clifford was adamant that the following summer Cody had gotten better, with so much still to go. Clifford always credited Zeller for his ethic, at least…

Except Zeller was a lottery pick from a blue-blood college basketball school at Indiana. Diabate, while coming out of blue(ish?) blood Michigan after being drafted in the second round by the Clippers, who didn’t even extend a qualifying offer in the summer two years later. Moussa had to scrap, claw, and prove to everyone he deserved this opportunity he’s earned now with the Hornets as their starter now, and in the future.

Even Hornets head coach Charles Lee underestimated Diabate as early as last December. Lee started a rookie in Ryan Kalkbrenner over the Moose for a good early portion of the season.

Just like he’s done his whole career… Moose didn’t complain; didn’t give up. He just kept showing up and proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that he deserves not just to start, but to always start, because he always impacts the game.

Diabate played a lot last year out of necessity. One has to think that last year’s injury-riddled Hornets, in which Diabate saw so many minutes for the first time, were the reason for not realizing his potential last season.

His play last season had an asterisk for many. It seems the Hornets front office were included in that, but they realized by December that Moussa’s production was no fluke, and never was.

The synergy is off the charts right now with Charlotte in a way it hasn’t been in a decade, minimum. The change to make that happen all goes back to Moussa Diabate’s insertion into the Hornets’ starting lineup.

Even since his move to the starting unit, he hasn’t let up his relentlessness whatsoever (made apparent in the Detroit scuffle almost two months ago already). He’s honed in on it more and more with each game and has become the most integral cog in this Hornets iteration’s success besides arguably the max-man LaMelo Ball, himself.

Yet, you can’t even find Diabate as a top-five option anywhere to be the league’s MIP. Jalen Duren is the current MIP favorite. No Diabate to be seen.

I’m not sure what the definition of Most Improved Player in the NBA is anymore if Diabate isn’t considered for it. Much less, not even being available as an option.

It’s a joke of Anthony Bennett-level proportions. If the Hornets make the playoffs outright, the Moose will have the chance to prove them all wrong in real-time after their votes are already in.

That’s a big enough win for me, and I’m sure it is for Diabate, too.

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