On draft night, the Charlotte Hornets knew they had a steal when they landed James Bouknight with their 11th pick as he was a projected top-1o pick.
Bouknight impressed on his NBA summer league debut with the Hornets, he dropped 19 points while shooting 50% from the field against the Portland Trail Blazers.
However, he struggled during his second game with the Hornets as he just scored 11 points to go with 5 turnovers against the Sacramento Kings. Bouknight struggled mightily against lockdown defender and fellow rookie Davion Mitchell, who is nicknamed “Off Night”.
After the off outing, the rookie got a surprising phone call from Hornets owner Michael Jordan. Per Alex Kennedy, Bouknight was honored.
He critiqued my game, told me what he saw. Not many 20-year-olds fresh in the league can say the best player to ever pick up a basketball is calling to give them pointers
Jordan's advice really struck on Bouknight as the Hornets' rookie immediately responded with a 23-point performance against the San Antonio Spurs.
The Hornets guard is really lucky since he has Michael Jordan as his boss and mentor. He will definitely pick a lot from him because they play the same position.
We know that in his college days, Bouknight was a gifted scorer who can beat any defender to the basket. However, the former UCONN guard is not just a scorer, Hornets summer league coach Dutch Gaitley sees a lot of potential in his playmaking skills.
He’s a great passer…He’s moving the ball around. Get to Vegas, bright lights, a lot of eyes. Now we just have to help him understand how he can impact the game without just dribbling and scoring.
It will be exciting to see how Bouknight will fair in his rookie year as the Hornets will be looking to make the playoffs next season with LaMelo Ball leading the way.
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