Hornets' Diabaté Wins NBA Kia Hustle Award

Moussa Diabaté of the Charlotte Hornets has won the NBA's Kia Hustle Award for the 2025-26 season, the league announced Thursday.

The award, presented annually since the 2016-17 season, recognizes players for effort-based plays that often do not appear in traditional box scores but contribute to team success. Unlike most end-of-season honors, it is determined by a statistical formula incorporating metrics such as deflections, loose balls recovered, charges drawn, screen assists, contested shots, and boxouts.

Diabaté, a 6-foot-10 forward-center, excelled in these areas. Among qualified players, he ranked second leaguewide in offensive rebound percentage at 16.5 percent, third in total offensive rebounds with 273, and fifth in offensive rebounds per game at 3.7. On a per-minute basis, he led in offensive boxouts, placed fourth in screen assists, eighth in offensive loose balls recovered, and 10th in contested two-point shots. He finished 11th or better in six of the nine tracked categories.

The 24-year-old set career highs across multiple stats in 73 games, including 47 starts and 26.0 minutes per game. He averaged 7.9 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 1.9 assists. Diabaté entered the...