Brandon Miller Feels ‘Winning Plays’ Are Building His Confidence With Hornets

Brandon Miller returned from a shin contusion Sunday night and scored 18 points in 23 minutes as the Charlotte Hornets beat the Milwaukee Bucks 105-90 at Spectrum Center for their first win of the preseason.

Miller shot 6-of-15 from the field and 4-of-9 from 3-point range. He added three rebounds and four assists.

He scored 11 points in the second quarter alone, when Charlotte outscored Milwaukee 31-19 to take a 60-45 lead into halftime.

Miller sat out the Oct. 6 opener, a 124-90 loss to the Brooklyn Nets, after suffering the contusion in practice. The team listed him as day-to-day.

For Miller, confidence comes from getting comfortable, playing with effort, and making the plays Charlotte needs.

"I would just say the comfortability, just finding what I like to do," Miller said. "The team trusts me to go out there and perform the way I do. But I think just being comfortable out there while I'm playing as hard as I can, giving 110% effort every possession down and just making all the winning plays. So I think that's kind of like a confidence booster. And I think that goes a long way in a basketball game."

Charlotte traded LaMelo Ball and Josh Green to the Minnesota Timberwolves on June 25 for Naz Reid, a 2033 unprotected first-round pick, and more draft compensation. Miles Bridges went to the Phoenix Suns in a separate deal.

Neither Kon Knueppel nor Coby White has appeared in a preseason game. Knueppel averaged 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists as a rookie last season and led the NBA in 3-pointers made while shooting 42.5% from deep. Grayson Allen sat out Sunday with right knee soreness.

Charlotte has not reached the playoffs since 2016. Miller said the Hornets have veterans who understand what it takes to play in the kind of games Charlotte wants to reach.

"I think the connection is there," Miller explained. "We've been together since the summer, building these bonds since day one. Just having guys like Grayson, older guys like Naz, people that's been around before or has been in that playoff era that we want to be in, I think they help us as young guys just to prepare us for the playoff type of games, the away games that are pretty loud. So just having guys like that is always a win for us."

Last season, Miller appeared in 65 games in his third year in the league. He averaged 20.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 3.3 assists while shooting 43.5% from the field, 38.3% from 3-point range, and 89.2% from the free-throw line.

A torn ligament in his right wrist ended his 2024-25 season after 27 games. He averaged 21.0 points that year.

Charlotte drafted him second overall in 2023.

Hornets coach Charles Lee said after Sunday's game that he would never put a ceiling on Miller. Lee said Miller wants to guard the other team's best player and stay involved in offensive actions where he can make plays for others.

The Hornets exercised Miller's fourth-year option last October. He is eligible for a rookie-scale extension before the season, and without one, he would become a restricted free agent next summer. Spotrac lists his qualifying offer at $21.2 million.

Tyler Herro also scored 18 points for Milwaukee, which fell to 1-2 in the preseason. Charlotte is 1-1.

The Hornets visit the Boston Celtics on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET, then close the preseason Friday at 8 p.m. ET against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum.