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LeBron James loved what he saw from a rising 21-year-old star, Brandon Miller, on Monday night. Miller had an impressive outing against the LA Lakers at the Spectrum Center despite the 124-118 loss. The Charlotte Hornets made a huge run in the fourth quarter led by Miller but eventually fell short.
Miller finished the game with 33 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter, where he almost single-handedly brought the Lakers down. Miles Bridges kept the Hornets afloat with 41 points, but it was the rookie out of Alabama who stunned the visitors in the final period.
In his postgame interview, James had nothing but praise for Miller. He loved what he saw from the Hornets guard and is excited to see what he can accomplish in the next few years:
"He's here for a reason," James said. "He'll continue to get better. I love what I see from him at this stage of his career."
Brandon Miller was the No. 2 pick in this year's draft, and many were critical of the Charlotte Hornets for the decision. The Hornets passed on Scoot Henderson, who was touted as the second-best player of the draft class, behind Victor Wembanyama.
However, Miller has been having a better season than the struggling Henderson. Miller is averaging 16.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game, shooting 44.0% from the field, 38.5% from beyond the arc and 82.1% from the charity stripe.
The 21-year-old star is among the best rookies this season along, so it's not surprising that LeBron James is a huge fan of him. Other top-performing rookies include Wembanyama, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Dereck Lively II, Brandin Podziemski, Cam Whitmore, Jordan Hawkins and Keyonte George.
Brandon Miller's GOAT is not LeBron James or Michael Jordan
Before playing his first NBA game, Brandon Miller made a bold statement regarding the greatest of all time. He was asked during his pre-draft media availability and snubbing LeBron James and Michael Jordan:
"I actually don’t think LeBron is the GOAT of basketball," Miller said. "My GOAT of basketball is actually Paul George. I grew up watching him. So it was never just LeBron."
It was a valid answer from Miller, as everyone has their own GOAT player. It's a pretty good comparison in fact, as they are both lengthy players who can play both guard and forward positions.
George might be more athletic and better defensively, but defense is something Miller can improve.
