The Hornets' Rookie Report Card After Their Summer League Debuts

One did well, the other? Not so much.

Dec 29, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Washington Huskies forward Hannes Steinbach (6) shoots the basket against the Utah Utes during the first half at Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and for that matter, neither are NBA careers. There are ups and downs, and plenty of setbacks, especially when one’s journey is beginning.

So then it should come as no surprise that Charlotte’s pair of first-round picks from this year’s draft had both moments of good and bad in their first taste of NBA summer league action.

Here are my grades from their debut game against the Orlando Magic.

Hannes Steinbach: B+

I’m very tempted to give Hannes an A, but then where do we go from here? I’m purposely being hard on the kid, but let’s be honest, the 6-10 center did great in his first game, and everyone noticed.

“That boy can rebound,” said forward Liam McNeeley. “He got so many offensive rebounds and got his hands on so many long rebounds and stuff.  He just makes the game easier.”

Steinbach played a huge role in Charlotte’s 86-74. The big man scored 15 points on 4 of 7 shooting in 22 minutes of action, and yes, much to McNeeley’s delight, he tallied 11 rebounds as well.

Steinbach got off to a slow start, but that might have been because he wasn’t used to coming off the bench. Orlando also played him very tough, which also might have thrown him off. However, once he settled in, it was game over for Orlando.

Christian Anderson: C-

While I was tough on Hannes, I’m going to do the opposite for Christian. Did I honestly expect him to set the world on fire in his first game out? Absolutely not. Going into Vegas, there were already questions about Anderson’s size. The 6-1 point guard did not help himself with his effort on Thursday.

But again, he’s a rookie, and there’s going to be growing pains, which there certainly were plenty of in the opener against the Magic.

First, though, I will commend him for doing a better job of taking care of the basketball than his teammate Sion James. While James had four turnovers, Anderson only had two. Not great, but with the way Orlando was playing, it could have been a lot worse as he and James shared duties setting up the offense.

But overall, Anderson was really a non-factor in the result of the game. First off, he needs to settle down. He went just 2-11 from the field in the opener. Hornets summer league coach Blaine Mueller thought a lot had to do with the physical nature of the Magic.

“We've been playing against ourselves for three days, and you see a team like this, and they're big, they're physical, they're into you,” he said. “Our guys need to feel it and see it and go through that, fight through it.”

Mueller did add he thought Anderson played better as the game went on.

“I saw Christian kind of get into the paint, get to his mid-range, pull up, and see some shot goes in,” he added. “He was playing under control and with confidence from that.”

Hey, the first steps are always a bit clunky. For Anderson, it can only go up from here.

Subscribe to our FREE Newsletter for the latest news and updates on the Charlotte Hornets