When the Charlotte Hornets stole Ryan Kalkbrenner in the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft in a heist that would rival the recent Louver robbery, the league didn’t expect him to become a Rookie of the Year candidate.
Just a few games into his career, he has announced himself as the steal of the draft, something Jeff Peterson will shout from the mountaintops. Offensively, skill and intelligence are the key markers on Kalkbrenner’s resume.
In a game against the Bucks, Kalkbrenner showed the rest of the NBA that he belongs as a starting center in the league by making one of the best defensive centers in the league look like a toddler playing against his father.
Hornets center Ryan Kalkbrenner shows promise against the Milwaukee Bucks
Kalkbrenner’s blazing-hot start offensively continued, as he made all eight of his shots against Milwaukee. He scored 17 points, grabbed nine rebounds, and blocked three shots.
Myles Turner had no answers for him. Charlotte watched as Kalkbrenner had Turner’s head spinning like a newly bought Beyblade.
A game like this will give an immense amount of confidence to Kalkbrenner. Dominating a center like Turner shows that Kalkbrenner might be worthy of face-guarding or double-teaming.
Defensively, Kalkbrenner is still a work in progress. Turner scored 21 points, although he did so on 50 percent shooting as opposed to 100 percent shooting like Kalkbrenner.
Efficiency has been the name of the game for Kalkbrenner, as he has been living around the rim. An astounding 91.7 percent of his points are from two-point range.
Ryan Kalkbrenner is quickly becoming a key member of the Hornets
This impressive rookie is already an invaluable part of the Hornets’ lineup after just a handful of games against grown men.
The next step for Kalkbrenner is to build some muscle on what is still a relatively scrawny frame. He can still be bullied inside and was brushed aside a couple of times by Turner, who isn’t close to one of the strongest centers in the league.
Once Kalkbrenner hits the gym and puts on a few pounds of muscle, the rest of the NBA will have an even harder time keeping him from dunking the ball into oblivion. Kalkbrenner leads the league in field goal percentage, and he will only get better offensively as the season goes along.
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