‘Made for today’s NBA:’ Brandon Miller dazzles in rookie year with Charlotte Hornets

By the third day of training camp, the Charlotte Hornets knew they had someone special.

Every time Brandon Miller received instruction from his coaching staff, it seemed to sink in for their standout rookie. The more they watched him, the more it became clear what the reigning SEC player of the year was bringing.

Miller, who scored 18 points in a 101-89 loss to the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night, didn’t need to be told anything multiple times. Already a solid defender and shooter following a nationally-acclaimed collegiate career at Alabama, he’s knows he’s made an impact with his NBA teammates..

“Being a young leader,” Miller said postgame. “Being a young leader is going to help us in the long run.”

Miller, recently named the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for the second time, played against Vasilije Micic earlier in the year.

Micic was sent to the Hornets (15-47) after starting his NBA career with Oklahoma City and remembers their matchup on Feb. 2. It was a blowout win for the Thunder, but seeing a fellow rookie score the way Miller could was impressive.

“He’s super talented,” said Micic, who scored a career-high 21 points on Tuesday. “We played against them in OKC, and he had a great game that night. I realized some details that I liked in terms of his skills, in terms of his size. I think he has the right mindset.”

Miller continues exceeding expectations since the Hornets selected him with the second overall pick in last year’s NBA Draft. Head coach Steve Clifford knew he was going to be a strong player, but analytically, the Hornets have noticed that Miller has been finishing at the rim and defending better this year than he did at Alabama.

Miller has become a regular in the lineup for the Hornets, who made a flurry of trade deadline moves that made the team even younger. He’s been gaining weight and putting on muscle as he works with strength-and-conditioning coach Adam Linens.

“He’s kind of made for today’s NBA,” Clifford said of Miller, who averages 16.7 points per game. “Positional size. He could guard in college — one through four — for a really good defensive team. He was a range shooter and made big shot after big shot playing for a good team. But I would say the other thing — which is hard to find — is his decision making. When he’s open, he shoots it, when he’s not, he moves in and cuts. And you don’t teach that. Players do that naturally, or they don’t.

“So, to me, positional size, basketball IQ and he competes very naturally. When you play 82 times, you don’t go into the locker room with all these motivational stories. You get guys that care if we play hard or they don’t, and that was one of the things that we knew he would do.”

Miller got to square off against the NBA’s defending top rookie — Paolo Banchero — on Tuesday night.

The former Duke standout turned heads inside Spectrum Center, leading all scorers with 22 points, but Miller found some success despite Orlando’s best defense being thrown at him. Miller knocked down a 3-pointer that made it a one-point game late in the first half — marking 17 straight games with a triple, one away from LaMelo Ball’s record of 18 for most as a Hornets rookie.

The Magic put their bigger defenders on Miller and often double-teamed him, which took away his pick-and-roll opportunities.

Tuesday’s loss wasn’t a blowout, and Charlotte was in a game that was choppy throughout. Technical fouls ended up being issued on both ends — the Hornets’ being assessed to Clifford — during the third quarter as the lead went back and forth.

“I didn’t get a tech,” Miller said with a laugh. “I think that’s just the competitiveness of, everybody wanted to win. No team wants to lose like this, especially in front of the home crowd.”