Why Moussa Diabaté deserves a starting role with the injured Charlotte Hornets: A deep dive into his impact

Matt Alquiza | Nov 11, 2024

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Charlotte Hornets

Nobody expected this from Moussa Diabatè.

When the Charlotte Hornets signed Diabatè to a two-way contract at the end of July, the greater NBA world barely batted an eye. An X post by former ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski was lost among the general chatter on a Monday afternoon, and the days and weeks after the signing passed with nary a mention of Diabate when discussing Charlotte’s present or future.

Boy, was that a mistake.

The Frenchman has been salient for Charles Lee’s undermanned unit. Down three key contributors in the front court, Lee has been forced to lean on veteran journeyman Taj Gibson, fledgling rookie Tidjane Salaün, and Diabatè, who has somehow developed into Gen-Z Dennis Rodman in his short stint with the Hornets. His performance on the boards has been key to Charlotte’s ability to compete against upper-echelon squads like the Pacers and 76ers, retaining the ball with relentless offensive rebounding skills and shuttering enemy attacks on the defensive glass. Diabaté is still playing a limited role, but statistics say that Baguette Barkley (does nickname that play?) should see an uptick in minutes going forward.

Diabate’s statistical brilliance

The Hornets play better when Diabaté is on the floor. It’s pretty simple.

Charlotte rebounds 40.1% of their own attempts when Diabaté is in the lineup, a 99th percentile number across the Association (all stats via Cleaning the Glass). His long arms and active motor, a deadly combination for a glass-cleaner, make every missed shot by one of his teammates a possible offensive rebound.

Before the Hornets game against the Pacers, Indiana head coach Rick Carlisle expounded on Charlotte’s propensity to pull in an inordinate amount of offensive rebounds, crediting the correlation between long, wonky rebound paths and the volume of three-point attempts Charlotte tries. Diabaté has feasted on those long rebound attempts, securing extra possessions for his offense time and again. In half-court sets specifically, Charlotte hauls in 45.9% of their own misses with Diabatè manning the paint, the league’s best mark. His offensive rebounding skills are truly game-changing.

Diabaté’s defensive dominance

It’s not just domination on the boards for Charlotte when Diabatè plays; they’re markedly better on defense as well. The big man lacks the density of more lauded paint-protectors, but he makes up for it with Gumby-like length and his aforementioned motor. The Hornets only allow 96.5 points per possession and an opposing effective field goal percentage of 45.5% when the Moose (this might be the nickname) patrols the paint. Charlotte's defensive efficiency numbers are average as a whole (16th according to NBA.com), but they are borderline elite when Diabatè is getting burn.

Now, this author wasn't born yesterday, and is well aware that this early in the season, with a small set of data, it's difficult to rely solely on statistics to fully encapsulate a players impact. Moussa Diabatè has primarily contested opposing bench units; an easier test than 30+ minutes banging with the lauded big men Charlotte has faced in recent contests like Rudy Gobert and Myles Turner. However, the film matches the statistics for Diabatè.

Watch either of Charlotte's most recent games against Indiana and Philadelphia, and tell me that his effort, energy, intensity, and instincts don't pop off of the screen. Diabatè's offensive game needs some fine-tuning (his two fumbled exchanges from LaMelo Ball on Friday night didn't do him any favors), but he's shown flashes of solid finishing ability, and even some playmaking chops kicking the ball to open shooters on the short roll.

If nothing else, Diabatè has proven himself to be a valuable commodity that Charlotte signed in late July off of the scrap heap. If he never develops further and he tops out as an energetic bench presence who can mop up rebounds in spot duty, that would be a win for Jeff Peterson and his scouting team. On the other hand, if Charles Lee gives Diabatè some extended run with Ball, Brandon Miller, and the starting unit, he could develop into a key developmental piece in Charlotte's oft-injured front court. His next chance to impress Lee and his staff comes on Tuesday night when Charlotte opens up NBA play against the shorthanded Magic in Orlando.