Which Charlotte Hornets players have most to prove?

2. James Bouknight

Classified as an up-and-comer, 23-year-old guard James Bouknight finds himself being named as a player with something to prove. The 11th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft has not been able to make the sizeable impact the Hornets were hoping for upon deciding to make him their selection. As Bleacher Report’s Adam Fromal noted, Bouknight’s lack of success from deep is concerning. The Hornets were one of the worst teams in the NBA from three-point range and needed contributions from everyone on their roster, including Bouknight.

"“After hitting just 34.8 percent of his attempts from the field and 34.7 percent of his triples as a rookie, he sat at 35.8 and 30.3 percent, respectively, during his sophomore campaign. That obviously won’t cut it if he’s looking to become even a rotation mainstay off the pine.”"

Hoping that Bouknight becomes a rotation mainstay may be a bit of wishful thinking at this point. A non-starting caliber player not being able to contribute to a clear area of need (three-pointers), makes it hard to justify more time on the court. Additionally, the Hornets have actively gone out and added other guards to the roster. These are not the actions of an organization that is satisfied with its guard depth and could mean that the jobs of players returning from last season are less than secure. Bouknight will need across-the-board improvement if he is going to extend his stay in Charlotte.