Brandon Miller credits his teammates’ trust as the Hornets lock him in for $209 million

Brandon Miller got paid on Monday, but when he was asked a day earlier what would keep him in Charlotte for the long haul, he did not talk about the money or the city first. He talked about his teammates.

WCNC’s Danielle Stein sat down with Miller the day before the Hornets finalized his five-year, $209 million rookie-scale extension, and asked what the organization means to him as he heads into his fourth season. His answer went straight to the locker room.

“It goes back to the players”

“I think it goes back to the players,” Miller said. He described the bond he has built with the people around him as the foundation for everything he has done on the floor, and said he tips his hat to them for building that trust, sticking with him through tough times and being the veterans he needed when he arrived as a rookie.

It is a telling answer from a player the franchise has now put at the center of its plans. Charlotte traded LaMelo Ball to Minnesota this summer, and general manager Jeff Peterson said in July that the team wanted Miller “here for a very long time.” Monday’s deal turned that into a commitment through the 2030-31 season.

Tuning out the outside talk

Stein also asked Miller about the outside predictions that he could become a perennial All-Star. He said he does not pay much attention to them. “I hear it, but I can control what I can control,” he said, adding that what he can control is his play on the court and that playing basketball is what he is good at.

That approach will be tested quickly. The extension is the second-largest rookie deal of the offseason behind Victor Wembanyama’s, and it comes with a new level of expectation for a player who has never been the clear first option on a team.

What he brings into year four

Miller, the No. 2 pick in the 2023 draft, averaged 20.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists last season while shooting 38.3% from three. He did it while playing through a left shoulder injury suffered in the second game of the season at Philadelphia, and he had surgery in May to fix the instability.

He may have to carry even more early on. Kon Knueppel missed the preseason with a hamstring issue and Coby White has been dealing with a calf strain, and coach Charles Lee has not given a timeline for either player.

What comes next

Charlotte opens the 2026-27 regular season at the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday, October 21, at 7:30 p.m. ET. Game details, lineups and live stats are on the Game Center.