Hannes Steinbach Had Doubts After Charlotte Hornets Pre-Draft Workout

The Charlotte Hornets released the newest episode of Reel Access on Aug. 20, a behind-the-scenes look at the 2026 NBA Draft and the offseason that followed. Part of it covers Hannes Steinbach's pre-draft workout in Charlotte, which ran one-on-one. One player, a group of coaches, and no other prospects to share the reps. Afterward, a front office member asked Steinbach how he thought he performed, and he responded that it had not gone well. Charlotte selected him 14th overall six weeks later.

Steinbach's interpretation of the session was purely mechanical rather than emotional. He returned to emphasize points on screens twice within just a few sentences.

"I think I got like pushed around too much on the other bigs," Steinbach said. "And the drives on the screens and stuff. And just shot short. It's fine. It happens. Just gotta work on being low on the screens and stuff and not get pushed on."

The response from the room was that the workout was a single day against the year of film Charlotte had already collected. Steinbach went from there into a session with Hornets coach Charles Lee going through his Washington tape. Lee, Jeff Peterson, and a third executive had taken Steinbach to sushi the night before.

Steinbach started all 30 games in his one season at Washington. He averaged 18.5 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 34.6 minutes, shooting 57.7% from the field and 34.0% from 3-point range. His 353 rebounds led the Big Ten and his 11.8 per game led Division I. He recorded 22 double-doubles and made All-Big Ten and the Big Ten All-Freshman team.

Charlotte tried to move up before taking him. The Hornets offered the 14th pick and a future pick to the Golden State Warriors for No. 11, ESPN's Anthony Slater reported. Golden State kept the pick.

Steinbach is from Würzburg, Germany, and played for Würzburg in the Bundesliga in 2024-25 before Washington. His father, Burkhard Steinbach, played professionally in Germany. He is the highest-drafted German player since Franz Wagner went eighth in 2021.

Charlotte selected Texas Tech guard Christian Anderson Jr., who is also German, four picks after Steinbach. They won silver together at the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup, where both made the All-Star Five and Anderson led in assists. As a sophomore, Anderson averaged 18.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 7.4 assists, setting the Texas Tech single-season assist record. The Hornets had no second-round pick, as it was traded to the Miami Heat.

Charlotte was the place Steinbach continued to think about after finishing the workout.

"I was surprised of course, but I was very happy about just like hearing my name called by the Hornets," Steinbach explained. "Just like I said when I left here I was really excited about this place and about the organization in general."

The remainder of the episode discusses the war room activities and subsequent trades. Charlotte traded LaMelo Ball and Josh Green to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Naz Reid, an unprotected first-round pick in 2033, first-round swaps in 2028, 2029, and 2030, and second-round picks in 2029, 2032, and 2033. Miles Bridges was traded to the Phoenix Suns for Grayson Allen and Royce O'Neale. Tre Mann was sent to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Dennis Schröder. Charlotte also re-signed Coby White to a three-year, $74 million deal and acquired Dorian Finney-Smith from the Houston Rockets.

Last season, the Hornets finished with a 44-38 record and ranked ninth in the Eastern Conference. They secured their playoff spot by defeating Miami in overtime during the play-in, but then lost 121-90 to Orlando for the No. 8 seed.

Charlotte has now missed the playoffs for 10 consecutive seasons. The Hornets will start this season on the road against the Brooklyn Nets.