Everything You Need to Know About The Summer League Charlotte Hornets

I gave a full preview on each player entering Summer League for the Charlotte Hornets, and more.

The Charlotte Hornets are going to go into Summer League looking to defend their 2025 championship. It’s a much different roster this time around, mainly in that there is no 4th overall pick Kon Knueppel to shoulder the offensive load.

But there is still a ton of talent on the team, including two top-20 picks in Hannes Steinbach and Christian Anderson.

I dove into every single player on the Hornets Summer League roster, what to expect from them, and what their roster outlook looks to be moving forward.

Thoughts On Every Hornets’ Summer League Player

The Guys You Probably Haven’t Heard Of

Every year, there are players on each team’s Summer League roster that don’t get a ton of recognition. Most of the eyes are pointed towards first- and second-round picks (and rightfully so).

But I wanted to give a quick breakdown on each of the players on the Hornets SL team you probably haven’t heard of.

Terrell Brown Jr.

28 years old | Guard | 6-3, 180 | Washington

Terrell Brown has spent the past three seasons in Greensboro with the Swarm. He’s the oldest player on the Summer League team by at least three years, but I have to imagine the reason he’s in Vegas with the Hornets is because he’s a veteran playmaker.

This past season, Brown averaged more than six assists per game in 36 appearances for the Swarm. We’ve seen what it looks like when a Summer League team doesn’t have a table-setting point guard, so Brown’s presence is probably a preventative measure.

Josiah Allick

25 years old | Big | 6-8, 240 | Nebraska

Josiah Allick is another name representing the Greensboro Swarm. This past season he averaged seven points and six rebounds playing center. More interestingly with Allick is his three-point shooting ability (or, at least, the possibility of it).

We know that bigs that can shoot intrigue the Hornets front office (look at Kalkbrenner, Naz Reid, and Hannes Steinbach), and Allick has been unafraid to shoot it from deep throughout his college and G-League career.

Cameron Matthews

24 years old | Forward | 6-7, 235 | MS State

Cameron Matthews spent five years at Mississippi State before playing for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the G-League this past season. He’s got a pro-ready frame and is a willing shooter, despite the efficiency never quite being there.

More interestingly with Matthews is his defense, though. His ability to be a rugged, point-of-attack defender is what garnered him draft consideration in 2025, and that is likely to be his role on this SL team.

Latrell Wrightsell Jr.

24 years old | Guard | 6-3, 195 | Alabama

Latrell Wrightsell played (checks notes) SIX seasons of college basketball before making the professional jump this year. The first three of those were at Cal State Fullerton, the final three were at Alabama.

This past year for the Crimson Tide, Wrightsell averaged 13 points, three rebounds, and two assists per game, and is a career 38-percent 3-point shooter.

Wrightsell’s archetype is a difficult one to place into the NBA: he’s mostly a volume scorer without a ton of playmaking or defensive juice. He could definitely be a contributor for this Hornets G-League team as a depth scorer.

Max Mackinnon

22 years old | Guard | 6-6, 195 | LSU/Australia

Mackinnon is by far the most interesting players in this section, to me. He’s younger, has a bit more size than the other guards/wings here, and can really shoot the ball at a high clip.

Over his final two years in college, Mackinnon averaged more than 15 points per game on 44/39/88 splits. Those are elite shooting metrics. He’s also capable of driving at times, but for the most part will be a fairly stationary player.

He’s also just really far behind the crowd from an athletic standpoint, which results in him getting picked on defensively.

Wyatt Fricks

23 years old | Forward | 6-9, 215 | Marshall

Wyatt Fricks is another guy with length and previous productivity, though he was a late-breakout at Marshall this past season. He averaged 16 points and six rebounds per game this past year on a whopping 55% from the field and 35% from three.

Fricks’ biggest obstacle towards earning an NBA contract is the lack of physicality and how it affects his ability to defend front court players. His frame is mostly filled out at 215 pounds, so I question whether this is an aspect where he can grow.

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The 2-Way Guys

The Hornets agreed to two-way contracts with each of Michael Ajayi and Kylan Boswell following the 2026 NBA Draft. They join PJ Hall as two-way players. Hall, per Owen Watterson, will travel with the team to Vegas but won’t play in any games due to injury.

But due to the nature of being on a two-way deal, each of Ajayi and Boswell do have some expectations in the Vegas Summer League.

Michael Ajayi

23 years old | Forward | 6-7, 228 | Butler

The biggest thing that stands out with Michael Ajayi’s game is his processing. He’s a lightning-quick decision-maker and someone that is constantly making the correct play. He’s an elite rebounder for his size and consistently gives effort on the defensive end.

There are two main questions with his game, though:

1. Can he shoot the ball? Ajayi almost certainly will have to improve his 3-point efficiency if he wants to earn a real NBA contract.

2. Is he big enough to play the role he did at Butler? Ajayi was more of a big than a forward at Butler this past season. You can get away with that at his size in the Big East, but he struggled most in games against bigger teams like UConn.

Still, I really like the bet. I’m always willing to take a chance on players that have forward size and high-feel.

Kylan Boswell

21 years old | Guard | 6-1, 226 | Illinois

Kylan Boswell was a three-year starter at Illinois, and his best attribute is by far his on-ball and point-of-attack defense. The first thing that pops of the screen with Boswell is his 6-1, thickly-built 226 pound frame.

Boswell wasn’t a primary initiator for Illinois this past season (thanks to the emergence of Keaton Wagler), but he’s certainly a capable playmaker. My biggest concern with Boswell, though, is if he’s ever going to be capable enough as a 3-point shooter to become a real NBA contributor. He showed good enough touch at the college level, but shot 27% from three over his final two seasons.

With defense as his calling card, I also think Boswell might struggle athletically matching up with quicker point guards.

I think it will be interesting to see how he performs against Summer League competition, and I don’t hate the bet taken here.

The Returners

Ryan Kalkbrenner & Sion James

Kalkbrenner: 24 years old | Big | 7-1, 256 | Creighton

James: 23 years old | Guard | 6-5, 220 | Duke

I’m grouping Kalkbrenner and James together here because frankly, I don’t know how much run they’re actually going to get in Summer League. It would surprise me if they appeared in more than one game, honestly.

Both James and Kalkbrenner have proven themselves as NBA contributors, but I think having them in Vegas could help with the professionalism side of things for the newer, younger players.

If James and Kalkbrenner do play, the things I’d watch for is James getting lead ball-handling reps, and if they allow Kalkbrenner to actually shoot the ball from deep.

Tidjane Salaun

20 years old | Forward | 6-10, 207 | France

We’re entering year three for Tidjane Salaun, and he’s still only 20 years old. I don’t think there’s a bigger mystery on the Hornets’ roster than Salaun, who I still hold some stock in.

This past year, Salaun appeared in 37 games for the Hornets, but also moonlighted for the Swarm in their playoff run to a G-League championship. In five playoff games for the Swarm, Salaun averaged 16 points and 10 rebounds.

I think Salaun is likely to be one of the players plays in each Summer League game, and I’m interested to see the progress on how consistent his jump shot form is, as well as if he seems to be more in control of his athleticism.

Even in his appearances for the Hornets this past season, Salaun seemed very, very raw (which is okay for a 20-year old), but if he does not show much progress in the Summer League, there will be questions about whether the Hornets opt to exercise his 4th-year option.

Liam McNeeley

20 years old | Forward | 6-7, 210 | Connecticut

Liam McNeeley the most interesting non-rookie to watch at the Summer League, to me. I think there’s an outside chance he could play his way into the rotation, and I think Charlotte will be interested to see what they have in Liam in regular season NBA minutes.

This past year for the Swarm (18 games), McNeeley averaged 20 points, five rebounds, and three assists per game on shooting splits of 46/33/79. In the G-League playoffs, McNeeley’s 3-point efficiency rose to 38% on seven attempts per game.

I’m penciling McNeeley in as an every-game starter for this Summer League team, I think he’s the player you want to see the most from.

One of the traits McNeeley was able to show a bit of at UConn and this past year for the Swarm was his on-ball creation. At 6-foot-7, 210 pounds, if he genuinely is able to use that skill at the NBA level (in combination with his shooting ability), I think that makes him a very valuable role player moving forward.

McNeeley impressed in the Vegas setting last summer, so I’m expecting more of the same (hopefully even better).

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The First-Round Picks

The moment you’ve been waiting for…. How will the two top-20 picks perform in Vegas Summer League?

Hannes Steinbach

20 years old | Big | 6-10, 248 | Washington/Germany

I think Hannes Steinbach will really flash in the Summer League. His game was built on the ability to score inside and rebound at an elite clip. He was able to fill the stat sheet consistently at Washington this past year without much help, and he’ll have a lot more playmaking help (particularly from Anderson) in Vegas this summer.

Steinbach is also a high-end athlete, the type that is usually able to get some flashy blocks in the Vegas setting.

If the Hornets want to win another Summer League championship (let’s be honest, we REALLY want it), Steinbach will have to be a primary reason why - especially if you anticipate Ryan Kalkbrenner only playing a game or two (I am looking forward to some limited Kalkbrenner/Steinbach minutes, if we get them).

Christian Anderson

20 years old | Guard | 6-1, 180 | Texas Tech/Germany

There are going to be many, many more eyes on Christian Anderson than originally anticipated following the Hornets’ trade of LaMelo Ball to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Right now he’s slotted to be the team’s backup point guard, and there honestly aren’t any other options that get you excited. Sion James got some minutes there last year, but the playmaking reps were ROUGH, and I think the Tre Mann ship has sailed, at this point.

Anderson’s game, like Steinbach’s, is one that I think should translate well to the Summer League setting. He’s a pick-and-roll maestro and elite shooter. If you see a simplified offense (be honest, you will) rolled out, Anderson’s skill set should work well even with limited practice and game reps.

Additionally, you have the pre-build chemistry from Anderson and Steinbach from when the two played with Germany at the U19 World Cup last summer. Both players averaged over 17 points per game, and Anderson had 6.6 assists per game in addition to the scoring.

They were Germany’s best players on the way to a 2nd place finish (only behind Team USA which rostered AJ Dybantsa, Mikel Brown, Koa Peat, Morez Johnson, Tyran Stokes, and Jordan Smith).

All of that is to say this: I think Anderson and Steinbach will impress in Summer League. There’s proof of concept, prior chemistry, and a bunch of players on the SL roster that should be able to support their respective skill sets.