The future (or maybe even the present) of the Charlotte Hornets looks incredibly bright, thanks to the young core of LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges, and Mark Williams.

While LaMelo catches the most national attention because of his highlight-making ability, swag, and flashiness, the player who may end up making the biggest difference for the franchise is second-year forward Brandon Miller.

The former No. 2 overall pick would have won the Rookie of the Year award going away in most years, but he just happened to be in the same draft class as a once-in-a-lifetime talent in Victor Wembanyama.

Because “Wemby” won the award and is not viewed as a prospect anymore, Brandon Miller is viewed as one of the top young players in the game. According to Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus, Miller is the No. 2 prospect in the NBA behind only Jalen Johnson of the Atlanta Hawks.

“The Hornets have a new head coach (Charles Lee), a better roster, and hopefully enough health this year to improve its on-court product. Ultimately, the team will probably focus on development and the draft, but Miller should have the green light all year. The second-year forward averaged 17.3 points a game last year, shooting 37.3 percent from three-point range. He’ll eclipse 20 per game as his overall game matures. The Hornets will give him his $12 million option as well.”

Not just because I cover the guy, but Miller should be the No. 1 player on this list without question. Yes, Johnson had a big year last season and came into the league extremely young but it still took him two-plus seasons to really show he was worthy of being a first-rounder in his draft class.

Miller’s ceiling is as high as it gets for a young player in the league. I’m not sure Johnson is going to be a high-level player year over year throughout his career.

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