Leaky Black Looks to Impact Hornets with Versatility

The rookie wing from the University of North Carolina will hope to make his presence felt on and off the stat sheet in his first professional season.

Every basketball team needs a player unafraid to put it all on the line without worrying about the aesthetics of their performance on a stat sheet. This season, for the Charlotte Hornets or the Greensboro Swarm, that player may end up being Leaky Black. 

The rookie joined the organization as an undrafted free agent back in July when he signed a two-way contract for the 2023-24 NBA season. Black will be continuing his basketball career once again in his home state. 

A native of Concord, North Carolina, Malik, nicknamed "Leaky," Black committed to play for the North Carolina Tar Heels during his sophomore season in high school. He would play four seasons in Chapel Hill before finding his way to Charlotte and becoming part of his hometown team. 

At Hornets media day last week, Black spoke about his unique basketball journey and how honored he feels to be suiting up for the team located where he grew up. He also dove into his impact on the court and how he will look to contribute as a rookie. For Black, the name of the game is versatility. 

"Being able to be versatile and move around on the court is what I pride myself on," said Black. "And if the stats show up, they will. But at the end of the day, if I'm on the court and we get the win, that's what I care about." 

Black made a reference to another well-known NBA player when describing his game: Draymond Green. He pointed out that there are a lot of players in the league who have made a name for themselves without needing to put up gaudy stat lines. 

"A guy like Draymond has made a great career for himself off of not just being a stat guy," said Black. If the Hornets can get anything close to what Draymond Green provides for the Warriors out of Leaky Black, they will have certainly found an incredibly valuable long-term piece. 

Players like Black and Green are becoming more common in the modern NBA landscape. Having an offensive 'connector' of sorts that can fill a variety of roles without necessarily specializing in any one category is an increasingly useful archetype of a player to have. "I feel like every team has a guy that's similar to that role," said Black. 

Leaky concluded his media day session by discussing his relationship with Jordan Surenkamp, the Head Coach for the Greensboro Swarm. Since he will be spending significant time with the Hornets' G League affiliate this coming season, Black has already been working to grow close with his coach. 

"Jordan works me out every single day, Monday through Friday," said Black. "He's a player's coach; a great guy to be around. And he's helped me improve my game dramatically so far." 

There is already a lot for Hornets fans to like about Leaky Black. Not only is he a hometown kid, but he has come in and developed strong relationships throughout the organization from the jump.

The cherry on top is that he has a strong understanding of what he brings to the table and how he can impact the game. There is certainly a reality in which Black outperforms expectations and finds himself on a full-time contract with the team going forward. 

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