Charlotte Hornets big man Moussa Diabate spoke to the Charlotte Observer after winning the 2025-26 Kia NBA Hustle Award.
After the NBA announced that Charlotte Hornets big man Moussa Diabate won the 2025-26 Kia Hustle Award, Hornets beat writer Rod Boone of the Charlotte Observer caught up with Diabate.
"It's only the beginning for me," Diabate said. "That's how I see it."
The Kia NBA Hustle Award honors players who make effort plays that do not often appear in the traditional box score but impact winning on a nightly basis. The award is based on a statistical formula rather than a media vote, utilizing a mixture of hustle stats.
Hustle stats – including deflections, loose balls recovered, charges drawn, screen assists, contested shots and box outs – have been tracked by the NBA since the 2016 playoffs.
Charlotte made a dramatic in-season turnaround during the 2025-26 campaign. Through December 22, the Hornets were only 9-20, but from December 23 through the end of the season, the Hornets went 35-18, the sixth-best winning percentage in the NBA during that span.
What sparked that change? Well, December 23 marked the day Diabate became a full-time starter for the Hornets. Diabate thrived in his role as a hustle player in that unit, complementing fellow starters LaMelo Ball, Kon Knueppel, Miles Bridges and Brandon Miller.
Here are some stats from Diabate's 2025-26 season, via NBA.com:
• He set hard-hitting screens to free up Charlotte’s prolific 3-point shooters, ranking fourth in screen assists per minute (0.1122) and seventh per game (2.9). Driven by his activity, the Hornets ranked fifth in points per possession off screens (1.07) this season.
• He boxed out and crashed the offensive glass to give the Hornets extra possessions, leading all players in offensive box outs per minute (0.0537) and tying for first per game (1.4). He finished fifth in offensive rebounds per game (3.7), helping Charlotte rank second in second-chance points per game (17.8).
• He had a nose for chasing down 50-50 balls on offense, ranking eighth in loose balls recovered per minute (0.0147). Those extra efforts provided the Hornets additional opportunities to score and prevented opposing teams from getting out in transition.
• He contested shots from all over the court, ranking 10th in contested 2-point shots per minute (0.2001) and 11th in contested 3-point shots per minute (0.0958). Diabate's ability to defend multiple positions — he split his time between defending guards (21.1%), forwards (35.4%) and centers (43.5%) — helped Charlotte become a top-five defense once he became a full-time starter.
Diabate appeared in 73 games for the Hornets this season. He averaged 7.9 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game while shooting 63.1% from the field and 65.9% from the free-throw line.
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