Brandon Miller celebrated his 23rd birthday on Saturday by playing in an NBA game for the first time since Oct. 25.
The former Alabama All-American missed 13 games because of a partial dislocation of his left shoulder. He returned from his injury on Saturday in the Charlotte Hornets’ 131-116 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Miller started at guard, and in 25:32 on the court, he had 21 points, one rebound, three assists, one steal and one blocked shot.
Charlotte coach Charles Lee said he thought Miller played “pretty good” in his return.
“I thought that his energy early on was great,” Lee said. “Even found a little spurt in the second half that I thought was really good for him and his confidence and his rhythm. But, I think, look forward to seeing how he responds tomorrow after playing and having some contact and everything, and, hopefully, just keep on progressing.”
The Hornets play the Atlanta Hawks at 5 p.m. CST Sunday at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
Miller said it felt as though he was “back like I never left.”
“It felt good just to be back out there with the guys,” Miller said. “Outcome wasn’t what we wanted.”
Miller had a steal and a dunk for the game’s first points, then sank a pair of jump shots as he accounted for the Hornets’ first six points on his first three shots
Miller made 8-of-18 shots and all three of his free throws, but he hit only two of his 10 3-point attempts.
On Oct. 22, Charlotte tipped off the season with a 136-117 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, with Miller contributing 25 points and seven assists. But three days later, after playing 9:14 against the Philadelphia 76ers, Miller left the game, which the Hornets lost 125-121.
Charlotte won three of the 13 games that Miller missed.
After averaging 18.8 points and 8.2 rebounds for Alabama in the 2022-23 season, Miller joined Charlotte as the second selection in the 2023 NBA Draft.
Miller averaged 17.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game in the 2023-24 season as he made the All-Rookie team and finished third in the balloting for the NBA Rookie of the Year Award.
But Miller missed 55 games last season after he sustained a torn scapholunate ligament on Jan. 15, 2025. Surgery to repair the wrist injury sidelined him for the remainder of his second season. Miller averaged 21.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.1 steals in 27 games in the 2024-25 campaign.
