Charlotte Hornets: Cody Zeller and MKG Ranked in ESPN’s Top-50 Under-25 Players
Even though it seems like they are much older, both Cody and MKG are still young developing talents for the Charlotte Hornets.
The Charlotte Hornets are a team with a mix of young and veteran players on their roster. ESPN recently released an article that focused on the young players throughout the league. They ranked the top-50 under-25 players and both Cody Zeller and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist were named to the list.
The rankings were full of promising prospects from Elfrid Payton (#50) to Anthony Davis (#1). While the Hornets aren’t necessarily known for their young talents, ESPN (and the writers/analysts that put the list together) felt that Zeller nad MKG were good enough to be top-50. Both of them were drafted by Charlotte and have played in the Queen City so far in their careers.
Cody, who is 24-years old and in his fourth season in the NBA, came in at #44 on the list. As for Kidd-Gilchrist who is 23-year old and in his fifth season, he was ranked as the #30 best player under-25. While neither challenged the top of the list, it is encouraging that the Hornets have two young players that experts think fairly highly of.
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Former Charlotte player Bismack Biyombo (#49) was named to the list as well as Tobias Harris (#36) who was originally drafted by the Hornets even though he traded to the Milwaukee Bucks on draft night. There is something to be said that NBA sophomore and 23-year old Frank Kaminsky was not named. Several players that were drafted after Frank made the list such as Myles Turner (#12), Devin Booker (#13) and even Larry Nance Jr. (#48).
Here’s what ESPN had to say about both Zeller and MKG:
“Zeller has increased his scoring, FG percentage, rebounding and blocks per game in each of his four seasons. He has the fourth-highest net rating among players selected in the 2013 draft (12.7).”
“Kidd-Gilchrist leads NBA defenders in most 3-point field goals contested per game this season (4.8).”
It is no surprise that Cody made the list as he has improved every season and is enjoying a career year in the 2016-17 campaign. Not to mention that he is also one of the best pick and roll big men in the league. As for Michael, it is a bit more shocking. He is a promising defender but his offense game hasn’t improved much since entering the league. If anything, his 12.5% from three this season is not motivating.
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Credit to both Zeller and Kidd-Gilchrist for doing enough to make the list even though it doesn’t mean much other than for fans to look at. The Charlotte Hornets aren’t known for being the best at developing young prospects or even drafting them for that matter but Cody and MKG have proven to be valuable and productive players.