The Hornets' Winners and Losers from Summer League Play in Las Vegas

Summer League has come and gone for the Charlotte Hornets.

This year, there was no championship, but as disappointing as that might have been, there are still reasons to feel good about the upcoming season based on what we saw in Las Vegas.

Here’s a look at the winners and losers from out west. Not mentioned is the guy who scored big playing the slots at the airport on my way back to Charlotte.

Winner: Hannes Steinbach

How can you not love this guy? During the course of five games, the 14th pick in the 2026 NBA Draft averaged 15.8 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 1.4 assists, all while shooting 60.2% from the floor. Even more encouraging is that he seemed to get better as the games went on, capping off his time in Vegas by posting back-to-back 20-point double-doubles. Hannes isn’t afraid of contact. In fact, he seemed to encourage it. I don’t think he’s done enough to earn himself a starting job just yet, but I think it’s coming.

Loser: Christian Anderson

During my time in Vegas, I came across a questionnaire that scouts apparently use to evaluate a player. A lot of it seemed to go against the 6-1 point guard that was the 18th pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Things like:

Can he defend multiple positions: No

Is he consistent night in and night out: No

Does he impact and effect winning: No

About the only thing that seemed to go for him was a question about his toughness. To that, I’ll give Anderson credit as he fought the whole way through, ending with his best game against the Kings. Anderson ended up averaging 10.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game, all while shooting 31% from the floor. With so much riding on him this season as a backup point guard, Charlotte had to be disappointed. He’s going to have to work hard in training camp to rebuild his stock.

Winner: Liam McNeeley

Playing in only three of Charlotte’s five games, the second-year forward made the most of his time in every sense. McNeeley turned in averages of 21.7 points (tops for Charlotte), 5.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.3 blocks per game. On top of that, he shot 45.2% from the floor and 63.2% from three. I said going into Summer League he was one of the guys facing the most pressure, and he did not back down from the challenge. If all goes well in training camp, he’ll have earned himself a rotation in the lineup.

Loser: Tidjane Saluan

What happened to TJ? Last year he was one of the bright spots from Charlotte’s time in Vegas with numbers like 14.0 points and 5.7 rebounds. This year, however, he was mostly a forgotten man, turning in averages of 9.0 points and 7.0 rebounds, all while shooting 1-for-10 from three.

Speaking of threes, this was the third year for Salaun in summer league play, and instead of establishing himself as a leader, he just sort of came and went. He was a project when Charlotte took him in 2023, and it’s clear he’s not progressing as fast as the team would like. This year, he’s going to have to produce, or else he might be out of a job.

Bonus Loser: The Hornets. 1 and 4? This is not the championship standard established in 2025.

Bonus Winner: The Hornets. It’s Summer League, and that record doesn’t really count.

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