Forward Brandon Miller finished third in the voting for the NBA Rookie of the Year Award and made the NBA All-Rookie team for the 2023-24 season. But that isn’t keeping the Charlotte Hornets from sending the former Alabama All-American to the NBA 2K25 Summer League.
The Hornets released on Tuesday their player pool for the California Classic Summer League on July 6-10 in Sacramento and San Francisco and the NBA 2K25 Summer League on July 12-22 in Las Vegas.
Charlotte indicated Miller would be available only for the Las Vegas games. From July 6-8, Miller will be working with the USA Basketball Men’s Select Team against the USA Basketball Men’s National Team in Las Vegas to prepare the latter squad for competition in the Paris Olympics.
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The Hornets obtained Miller as the second selection in the 2023 NBA Draft.
Last year, the Houston Rockets sent forward Jabari Smith Jr. to summer-league play in Las Vegas after the former Auburn star had been the No. 3 pick in the 2022 draft. A second-team selection for NBA All-Rookie in the 2022-23 season, Smith scored 71 points in two summer-league games last year before being pulled off the court by the Rockets.
Miller also played in Las Vegas last summer. He averaged 17.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.0 blocks in 24.1 minutes in three games before Charlotte had seen enough of its prized rookie.
In 74 games in the 2023-24 regular season, Miller averaged 17.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists as a rookie. His 184 3-point baskets rank as the fourth-most for a first-year player in NBA history.
In addition to the Hornets, the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs and Chinese national team will play in the California Classic Summer League.
Every NBA team fields an entry in the NBA 2K25 Summer League.
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.