The Player Most Critical to the Hornets' Defensive Success

The Charlotte Hornets were as successful defensively last season as they have been at any point in the 2020s, both by the numbers and the eye test. Their play on that end was an essential part of the team's 44-win regular season.

It was absolutely a collective effort that required complete team buy-in, but to me, two factors stood at the forefront of that two-way turnaround. Hornets Head Coach Charles Lee implemented a scheme and defensive style of play that maximized a roster lacking the requisite defensive playmaking talent you would ideally want.

Equally important was Moussa Diabaté, whose insertion into the starting lineup in mid-December this past season changed Charlotte's trajectory on both ends of the floor, but particularly defensively.

With Charlotte's defensive personnel not improving much on paper over the offseason, Diabaté will once again have to lead much of what the Hornets do on that end for the team to maintain a competitive, statistically positive defense.

Diabaté's value to Charlotte's defense

A way for any NBA team to have a generally solid defensive floor is, one, cleaning up the defensive glass and, two, avoiding fouling opponents. Those two things alone can provide a baseline for performance, and Diabaté helps Charlotte do both. He posted a 3.7% foul percentage this past regular season and a 21.1% defensive rebounding percentage while also being one of the best offensive rebounders in the league.

Diabaté is the only center on Charlotte's roster who is both switchable and capable of handling and excelling in multiple defensive coverages. With the Hornets primarily running a man-to-man system and rarely utilizing zone, they will need Diabaté's defensive range to once again field a stout unit.

While undersized for an NBA center, the 24-year-old is also a smart and effective rim protector. Diabaté has good timing when swiping for steals and deflections and is one of the few true havoc creators Charlotte has defensively. His activity across the board is vital to keeping the gears moving for the Hornets on that end.

Charlotte allowed 2.3 fewer points per 100 possessions with Diabaté on the floor last season, per Cleaning the Glass.

Jan 10, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Charlotte Hornets forward Moussa Diabaté (14) reacts to a call against him during the first half against the Utah Jazz at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Peter Creveling-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Another key part of the Hornets' winning ways with Diabaté in the starting lineup was dictating the possession battle. Charlotte finished top two in the NBA this past season in offensive rebounding percentage, defensive rebounding percentage, and overall rebounding percentage.

Diabaté was the No. 1 player opposing teams had to account for on the glass, often forcing them to send multiple bodies his way on Charlotte's missed shots. That attention had a ripple effect beyond creating second-chance opportunities.

Opponents could not proactively leak out in transition off misses because containing Diabaté on the offensive glass had to be a priority. That notably helped Charlotte's transition defense and allowed the Hornets to consistently get set on that end.

All of those components of Diabaté's game and impact, combined with his relentless motor and immense energy, have made him Charlotte's most critical defensive player at the moment.

While I am a fan of Charlotte's optionality in the frontcourt, with all of the possible pairings Lee can deploy, the reality is that Diabaté has to start at center this season and play upward of 30 minutes a night. That will be necessary for Charlotte to maintain a sustainable defense across the majority of its lineups while preserving the schematic versatility that made the Hornets so effective on that end last season.

Following Diabaté, the Hornets' possible options at the five all have limitations defensively. Ryan Kalkbrenner is a solid drop-big and a quality backup center, but he is slow-footed, is not switchable or particularly versatile, and, on the offensive end, does not provide the same facilitation or snappy decision-making ability that Diabaté does.

Hannes Steinbach is an exciting young offensive player, but as I have written about before, he is not there yet as a pick-and-roll defender to be ready to lead Charlotte's defense at the five, at least based on what he has shown on tape so far.

While Naz Reid and Grant Williams are interesting situational small-ball five options that would work well offensively in Charlotte's five-out sets at times, neither projects as an ideal defensive option at center.

Regardless of how Lee divides the minutes behind Diabaté at center, the responsibility Moussa will have to shoulder defensively, especially considering the Hornets' perimeter defenders surrounding him, is going to be significant.

Will he be up for the task? Only time will tell, but everything about the player and competitor Diabaté has shown himself to be suggests he will be.

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