Moussa Diabaté led the NBA in offensive rating at 139.5 — Queta second

CHARLOTTE — Oct. 15, 2026 — Moussa Diabaté led the NBA in offensive rating in 2025-26. Per Basketball-Reference, the Hornets center produced 139.5 points per 100 possessions, edging Boston’s Neemias Queta (138.4) for the league title. Jimmy Butler (135.9), Mark Williams (135.1) and Jalen Duren (134.1) rounded out the top five on a board packed with high-efficiency bigs and one Golden State wing.

Offensive rating estimates points produced per 100 possessions. Diabaté’s mark sat more than a full point clear of Queta and nearly six points ahead of Nikola Jokić (133.6) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (133.3), who finished sixth and seventh. The gap was not volume scoring — it was finishing, offensive boards and a tiny usage bite.

How a low-usage center topped the board

Diabaté played 73 games (47 starts) and 1,899 minutes, averaging 26.0 minutes, 7.9 points and 8.7 rebounds. He shot .631 from the field and posted a .653 true shooting percentage while using just 11.4 percent of Charlotte’s possessions when he was on the floor. His offensive rebound rate (16.5 percent) fed second chances; he grabbed 273 offensive boards and 635 total. Turnovers stayed modest at 1.0 per game.

Queta’s runner-up line followed a similar blueprint: 76 games, 1,926 minutes, .653 shooting, .674 true shooting and a 14.7 percent usage rate for a Celtics frontcourt that leaned on him as a starter in 75 games. The top of the offensive-rating list rewarded players who converted close shots and cleaned the glass without chewing possessions — not the league’s heaviest scorers.

Win shares, defense and the Hornets’ finish

Diabaté finished with 7.4 win shares (4.7 offensive, 2.8 defensive) and a defensive rating of 112. Charlotte went 44-38 and finished ninth in the East. The same motor that padded offensive rating showed up in highlight form all season; the league account caught one early drive-and-finish:

Moussa Diabaté drives… and drops the hammer 🔨 pic.twitter.com/IO61YGnGQQ

— NBA (@NBA) October 5, 2025

By late April the club had framed that energy as an award, announcing Diabaté as the recipient of the league’s Kia Hustle Award:

CAUTION: MOOSE HUSTLING ⚠️

Moussa Diabate has been awarded the NBA @Kia Hustle Award: https://t.co/ki50u5i9qs pic.twitter.com/7DPByxWZpf

— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) April 30, 2026

What it means for 2026-27

Leading the league in offensive rating on 11.4 percent usage is a role statement as much as a leaderboard line. Keep Diabaté near 26 minutes with that rebound rate and finishing percentage, and Charlotte’s half-court offense still has a built-in plus possession whenever the ball finds him at the rim or on the offensive glass. The regular season opens Oct. 21 at the Brooklyn Nets.