Swarm and Sting
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Kendrick Perkins inexplicably leaves Brandon Miller off All-Rookie ballot

Miller, who was voted third for NBA Rookie of the Year, was somehow left off an ESPN analyst's own voting.

By Evan Sidery

June 8, 2018; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Kendrick Perkins (21) during the second quarter in game four of the 2018 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors at Quicken Loans Arena. The Warriors defeated the Cavaliers 108-85 to complete a four-game sweep. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
June 8, 2018; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Kendrick Perkins (21) during the second quarter in game four of the 2018 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors at Quicken Loans Arena. The Warriors defeated the Cavaliers 108-85 to complete a four-game sweep. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
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Brandon Miller, the Hornets’ No. 2 overall pick from the 2023 NBA Draft, just put together an awesome rookie campaign. Miller averaged 17.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists while carrying a 55.2 true shooting percentage, which resulted in finishing third for NBA Rookie of the Year.

Trailing only San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama and Oklahoma City Thunder big Chet Holmgren in the voting, you would think Miller would be a consensus selection for NBA All-Rookie First Team.

Instead, that unfathomably wasn’t the case due to potentially an omission from ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins. In ballot results released to the public, Perkins inexplicably left Miller off not only First-Team but Second-Team as well.

Again, how in the world does this happen? Miller was a consensus All-Rookie except on Perkins’ ballot. Perkins has not come out publicly yet and explained why Miller was not featured in his submitted results.

While Miller wasn’t consensus due to this gaffe, it’s well-known in Charlotte how important he is to their hopeful long-term success.

After Miller took on a vocal role in the Hornets’ locker room late last season, there’s even some debate on whether he’s surpassed LaMelo Ball as the most important player on the roster. Honestly, due to Ball’s injury history and recent off-court concerns, that’s a fair question to ask moving forward.

Within new head coach Charles Lee’s system next season, Miller’s development will be one of the Hornets’ most important keys moving forward. In the right environment, there’s no reason why he can’t quickly become a 20-point per game scorer on elite efficiency.

For the Hornets’ sake, they hope Miller plays an instrumental part in their jump forward to sustainable contention next season. In the meantime, they will gladly look back on fantastic results for their prized 6’9” wing.

"To the ones that's booing, I'm here to let you know we're going to get a lot of wins this year," Miller said after being drafted by the Hornets. "Definitely going to try to hold up the big trophy at the end. Just going to have a lot of winners around me."