Drafting Sion James may have become an underrated move by the Charlotte Hornets. He hasn't been discussed as often as his fellow Hornets rookies, although it's possible that he could play a major role for the team during his first year in the league because of his defensive potential.
Sam Vecenie of the "Game Theory" podcast even envisions a reality where James ends up recording a total of at least 700 minutes because of his on-ball defensive prowess and competitive streak. The Hornets are pretty high on him, so it wouldn't be surprising to see him get some playing time in the 2025-26 season.
Some draft boards had James going in the first round, with Charlotte reportedly eying him with its No. 29 pick. But because Liam McNeeley was still available at that point, the Hornets could just hope that no other squad would snatch the Duke University product until they were on the clock again at No. 33.
As it turned out, he was still up for grabs, so the organization scooped him up.
Sion James offers Hornets what they have little of
It's worth noting, though, that James is already 22 years old, having played for four years with Tulane University before transferring to Duke and securing a starting spot alongside Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel. It's safe to assume then that Charlotte doesn't view him entirely as a project player. Maybe the hope is that he can develop quickly enough into an NBA-level contributor.
Considering that the club has a dearth of defensive stoppers at the wing positions, all James has to do to become a rotation regular is show enough progress in training camp.
For now, the only potentially reliable point-of-attack defender the Hornets have is Josh Green. Unfortunately, the veteran was underwhelming in that department last season. With Josh Okogie having been a casualty of the team's crowded roster, it has almost zero options that it can assign to guard elite ball-handlers or perimeter players.
Unless Charlotte plans on tanking some more, it has to find minutes for high-level defenders, such as the Georgia native.
The good news is that James won't necessarily be a black hole on offense. He has the capability to space the floor, as evidenced by his shooting splits of 51.6 percent from the field, 41.3 percent from 3-point land, and 81.0 percent from the free-throw line during his lone season with the Blue Devils. He can also serve as a secondary creator because of his sound ball-handling skills and knack for getting the ball to open teammates.
As such, there is a pathway for the promising swingman to rise in the depth chart by the time the regular season opens.