K.J. Simpson earns praise from Charles Lee following failed furious comeback against Maxey, Sixers

K.J. Simpson earned high praise from his coach following tonight's game.

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Mark Williams said it plain and simple following tonight's game: "He's been a dawg."

The Charlotte Hornets drafted K.J. Simpson in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft for his poise, leadership, and steady playmaking skills at the all-important point guard position. In his third consecutive game playing legitimate rotational minutes, Simpson flashed all three of those skills and a host of other in Charlotte's nailbiting loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

The rookie guard finished the game with eight points, nine rebounds, and six assists in a career-high 28 minutes on the floor. Simpson was on the hardwood to close out the close loss, handling the ball down the stretch of a close game with maturity well-beyond his years.

Simpson spent his four years of NCAA eligibility at Colorado before entering the NBA Draft, and his game exemplifies the seasoning that a guard receives when they play four years of college ball. In a November 25th loss to the Magic, Simpson looked overwhelmed, unable to compete on either side of the ball against Orlando's beehive of a back court. Just over a week later, Simpson was in total control; a true floor general that led Charlotte from down 20 against Tyrese Maxey, Paul George and the 76ers potent offense.

His head coach, Charles Lee, praised his improved play: "I'm really proud of the growth he's shown over these last few games that he's had an opportunity to play. It's a testament to him, and to the coaching staff, and to the Swarm staff, I think that it's a collective group that keeps helping K.J. grow, and as K.J. takes ownership of his career, he's doing a phenomenal job.

Lee, a first-year signal caller that preaches effort, intensity, and non-stop competitive fire on both ends of the floor, raved about Simpson's two-way impact following tonight's loss: "I thought that he did a great job tonight on both ends of the court. Defensively we had him on a couple of different people to guard, and he just had a scrappiness to him. A grit. A competitiveness that we needed. Some physicality, some active hands."

"I thought offensively he did a good job of being a threat. Being a baller out there. Guy goes under a screen? Shoot it. He came up with a big offensive rebound at the end of the game. He was just able to get us into our offense and keep us flowing in the right way."

Simpson has been forced into action following Charlotte's back court injury woes. Ailments to point guards LaMelo Ball and Tre Mann have opened up minutes for Vasilije Micič, Nick Smith Jr., and Simpson to prove their mettle, and Simpson has taken his chance and ran with it. Even upon Ball and Mann's return, it will be difficult to keep a hard-nosed player like K.J. Simpson out of the lineup.

Charles Lee said it plain and simple too: Simpson is a baller, and tonight was his best performance yet.

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