Brandon Miller said he has been cleared for full contact for about three weeks after undergoing left shoulder surgery in May.
Brandon Miller said Monday at Charlotte Hornets media day that he has been cleared for "full contact" for about three weeks.
Miller had surgery May 6 to address instability in his left shoulder. The Hornets ruled him out indefinitely that day and gave no recovery timeline. As of late August, he still was not cleared for basketball activities, according to The Charlotte Observer.
Miller spent this summer rehabbing a shoulder the team never put a return date on.
"Of course, I'm back now doing a lot better," Miller said. "I think the most important thing throughout this process, which is staying connected with my teammates. They did a great job of just keeping me focused on the controllables that I can control during my rehab and just kinda having that mindset throughout the summer has guided me back to where I'm at now."
Training camp opens Tuesday. At his own media day session, president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson said the team expects Miller to be a full participant and will monitor him through camp.
Miller Has Spent Two Straight Offseasons Recovering From Surgery
This is the second straight offseason Miller has spent on a surgical recovery.
On Jan. 15, 2025, in a win at Utah, he tore the scapholunate ligament in his right wrist. The team announced Jan. 23 that he had undergone surgery and would miss the rest of the season. He finished that year with 27 appearances, averaging 21.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 3.6 assists.
The shoulder trouble started last fall. Miller suffered a left shoulder subluxation, a partial dislocation, Oct. 25 in a loss at Philadelphia and missed 13 straight games. He was back Nov. 22 against the LA Clippers.
He wore a wrap on it the rest of the way and appeared in 65 games, all starts. His 20.2 points per game led Charlotte, and he made 3.1 3-pointers per game.
Miller Has Averaged 19 Points Across Three NBA Seasons
Charlotte drafted Miller second overall in 2023 out of Alabama, where he was the SEC Player of the Year as a freshman. The Nashville native played 74 games as a rookie and averaged 17.3 points. He finished third in Rookie of the Year voting.
As a rookie, he made 184 3-pointers. In 27 games the following season, he made 104, or 3.9 per game.
Last season, Miller made 43.5% of his field goals, 38.3% of his 3-pointers, and 89.2% of his free throws. He added 4.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.0 steals in 30.3 minutes. Across 166 career games, he has averaged 19.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.0 assists.
In NBA.com's season outlook, Shaun Powell wrote that Miller appeared ready to become a top-15 scorer in the league.
At Alabama, Miller averaged 18.8 points and 8.2 rebounds in 37 games and was a consensus All-American. He was Tennessee's Mr. Basketball as a high school senior at Cane Ridge.
Hornets Face Oct. 19 Extension Deadline With Miller
Now 23, he is in the final season of his rookie-scale contract. Charlotte exercised his fourth-year option Oct. 31, 2025, while he was sidelined with the shoulder subluxation.
In July, Peterson said he had spoken with Miller and his representation about a rookie-scale extension. The deadline to sign one is Oct. 19. Without one, Miller would head into restricted free agency next summer.
