Naz Reid spent seven fruitful seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He won the 2023-24 Sixth Man of the Year award, helped the team make consecutive Western Conference Finals appearances, and emerged as one of the most dynamic scoring bigs in the NBA. Unfortunately, he never had the opportunity to make the leap to All-Star status. The Charlotte Hornets can change that.
Traded to Charlotte as the immediate value in the blockbuster LaMelo Ball deal, Reid will have a realistic opportunity to make his first career All-Star Game in 2026-27.
Reid is coming off of a 2025-26 season during which he averaged 13.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.2 offensive boards, 2.2 assists, 1.0 block, 1.0 steal, and 2.1 three-point field goals made in 26.1 minutes per game. He did so on .456/.362/.732 shooting.
Though those may not look like All-Star numbers, they're digested differently when translated to 18.8 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.6 offensive boards, 3.0 assists, 1.4 blocks, 1.4 steals, and 2.9 three-point field goals made per 36 minutes.
If Reid can manage that on a per-game basis in Charlotte, then there's reason to believe an All-Star nod will be attainable. He should be able to produce even more volume on a per-36 level, however, when one simply looks at opportunity and role.
While Reid was one of three high-volume big men in the Timberwolves' rotation in recent years, he'll finally be the interior focal point with the Hornets.
Naz Reid is finally a starter—and the No. 1 big in the rotation
In Minnesota, Reid played alongside All-NBA big men Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert between 2022-23 and 2023-24. He then worked with Gobert and Julius Randle in 2024-25 and 2025-26. During that time, Gobert averaged no fewer than 30.7 minutes per game and both Randle and Towns played high-volume offensive roles.
Though Reid played a healthy share of minutes himself, his offensive role was consistently based on the strengths and weaknesses of his more prominently-featured interior complements.
In Charlotte, Reid will be the player around whom the interior is built. Moussa Diabate's energy and offensive rebounding, as well as Ryan Kalkbrenner and Hannes Steinbach's development, will be priorities. It's Reid's scoring and playmaking, however, that will be a driving force.
Weighing skill set and production as factors, no interior player projects to command nearly as many touches, isolation sets, post-ups, or even catch-and-shoot opportunities as Reid.
Hornets will rely on Naz Reid in a way Wolves never did
Brandon Miller will be the offensive focal point, with Kon Knueppel and Coby White joining him in high-volume roles. As a jump shooting team in need of interior offense, however, Reid's strengths perfectly align with Charlotte's style of play and the voids in the rotation.
For instance: In 2025-26, Charlotte ranked No. 25 in points in the paint. Reid, meanwhile, ranked in the 95th percentile in rim shot making efficiency, per Basketball Index.
Reid also ranked in the 80th percentile in stable post-up points per possession, the 88th percentile in one on one shot making, and the 92nd percentile in midrange talent. Suffice it to say: This jump-shooting Hornets team should have every reason to get Reid the ball and enable him to thrive within the three-point line.
There's clearly no guaranteeing that Reid will be an All-Star, but the long-awaited leap to that status could transpire in 2026-27 with a Hornets team that has positioned him to realize his potential.
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