Hornets’ Brandon Miller: ‘He’s going to be as good as he wants to be’

As Brandon Miller prepares for his second NBA season, Charles Lee, his new coach with the Charlotte Hornets , wants the former Alabama standout " to go from a guy on the scouting report to the guy on the scouting report ."

After joining the Hornets as the second selection in the 2023 NBA Draft, Miller went on to finish third in the voting for the NBA Rookie of the Year Award .

In his first NBA season, Miller averaged 17.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 32.2 minutes in 74 games. He made 37.3 percent of his 3-points shots, and Miller's 184 3-point baskets rank fourth in NBA history for a rookie.

Splitting his season in half, Miller averaged 14.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 0.6 steals in his first 37 games and 19.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.1 steals in his second 37 games.

"It's important that we have expectations, but more importantly, Brandon has expectations for himself," new Hornets general manager Jeff Peterson said on Monday about Miller's second season. "He's so competitive. He knows that he has a lot of room for improvement. He's a very good player now, but he has a lot of room for improvement. The sky's the limit with him, so I don't necessarily want to put a limit or a cap on him. He's going to be as good as he wants to be.

"I think a very valuable experience for him was this summer when he got to participate in some of the Olympic games and practices. He plays with those guys on a nightly basis anyway, but to play them all in one setting was a pretty unique experience for him, and that just kind of re-ignited him even more. He's very excited.

"Again, I don't to put a limit on him. I can tell you this: He's been in the gym all offseason and ready to take the next step."

Miller played on the USA Basketball Men's Elite Team this summer, providing the practice competition for the U.S. men's basketball team as it prepared for the Paris Games, where it won the gold medal.

"It was fun, playing against, playing next to guys, the greatest players in the world, learning from them every day," Miller said on Monday. "Couldn't ask for more than that. You know, just going in, competing at a high level, trying to get better every day."

Miller's goal for this season is to be able to dominate on both ends of the court.

"I think this year working on being an elite two-way," Miller said . "That's what Charles, what he's sort of been enforcing. I feel like I showed a little bit of two-way last year, but I think this year is going to be a great season for a two-way season."

Because of injuries and trades, only one Hornets player appeared in at least 70 games – Miller.

The Hornets are hoping to keep a core of swingman Miller, guard LaMelo Ball and forward Miles Bridges on the court in the 2024-25 campaign. A 2022 NBA All-Star, Ball led Charlotte with averages of 23.9 points and 8.0 assists per game, but he played in only 22 contests.

"Real excited, man," Miller said of Ball's return. "You know, the best IQ in the game. I think he's the best playmaker. He's going to help us. He's going to lead. I think that's all we can ask for him is just his leadership. He knows everybody's going to follow his lead. We're going to be right there with him. Everybody looks at him as a brother away from home. But without him, it would be different, for sure, as we've seen last year. But it's a new year. I see him doing great things this year, maybe All-Star for him."

Charlotte also has center Mark Williams returning after appearing in 19 games last season, rebound leader Nick Richards back, in-season trade acquisitions Grant Williams and Tre Mann on hand for training camp and July trade arrival Josh Green joining the rotation.

"Just here trying to build these new bonds with new faces," Miller said . "I think this training camp is going to be great for us. It's going to help us build even stronger bonds. And then, of course, that's going to help us later on in the season for our goals, which is playoffs, championships, so I think the bond is what we're going to work on this week."

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Charlotte is coming off a 21-61 season – the Hornets' eighth in a row without a playoff berth.

Charlotte starts its five-game preseason schedule against the New York Knicks at 4 p.m. CDT Sunday at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte. The regular season will tip off with a road game against the Houston Rockets at 7 p.m. Oct. 23.

"I think that was one of the things I kind of had to learn last year was just being a young leader," Miller said . "And I had teammates, of course, that backed me up to help me be a young leader."