Brandon Miller, Hornets agree to five-year, rookie-scale extension

Charlotte Hornets forward Brandon Miller. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Brandon Miller, Hornets agree to five-year, rookie-scale extension

By Andrew Wright | Last updated Oct 19, 2026 7:48 PM ET

In an offseason that the Charlotte Hornets traded away the face of their franchise in LaMelo Ball, the organization crowned a new face of the franchise Monday in Brandon Miller.

Brandon Miller agrees to extension with Hornets

According to ESPN's NBA insider Shams Charania, Miller and Charlotte have agreed on a five-year, $209 million rookie-scale contract extension.

Miller, the Hornets No. 2 overall pick in 2023, is coming off the best season of his career in which he averaged 20.2 points per game on 43.5% shooting from the field and a career-high 38.3% from three-point range.

The contract extension for Miller will run through the 2031-32 season, something that will lock him in with the organization for the foreseeable future.

BREAKING: Charlotte Hornets forward Brandon Miller has agreed on a five-year, $209 million rookie-scale contract extension, representatives AJ Vaynerchuk and Joey Middleton of VaynerSports tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/6enF8nrHOB
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 19, 2026

One thing is clear: the #Hornets view Brandon Miller as a focal point for their future: investing $209 million over five years

I sat down with Miller the day before his contract extension was finalized and asked him what it would mean to stay in Charlotte long-term @wcnc pic.twitter.com/Mi3k6T7HQe
— Danielle Stein (@Danielle_Stein9) October 19, 2026

Hornets ultimately chose Brandon Miller over LaMelo Ball

It was obvious to see that when Charlotte made the deal to send Ball out of town, it viewed Miller as one of the long-term pieces of the organization.

That has now been finalized, and the Hornets have made quite the commitment to Miller, who, despite getting better every season, has dealt with his fair share of injuries just as Ball had.

Miller has missed just under 45% of Charlotte's games in the previous two seasons, something that will certainly need to change over the next several seasons.

Hornets have an excellent young duo to build around for the future

The extension for Miller now guarantees that, unless a trade occurs, he will be paired with Kon Knueppel through the 2028-29 season. Alongside Ball last season, that trio was one of the most productive an exciting to watch in quite some time.

It could be argued that Miller (23) and Knueppel (21) have yet to even hit the prime of their careers, something that should be exciting for Hornets fans.

It's clear that the franchise views those two as cornerstones in Charlotte over the next several seasons and are putting a lot of faith and trust in them to make the Hornets a competitive team again.

Andrew Wright

Andrew "Dew" Wright graduated from Charleston Southern University with a degree in Communication Studies. He is a lifelong Chicago Cubs and Washington Commanders fan.

More must-reads: