Charlotte Hornets’ Moussa Diabaté wins NBA award for performance in 2025-26 season
Moussa Diabaté had no clue.
The Charlotte Hornets’ big man was in the midst of an afternoon workout, burning off some calories Thursday when he got the unexpected news. He’d been selected as the 2025-26 Kia Hustle Award winner, an honor for which he didn’t even know he was a finalist.
The hustle award highlights someone who makes effort plays that don’t typically appear in traditional box scores, but still help drive team success. Presented annually since 2016-17, the recipient is determined by a statistical formula incorporating the metrics of deflections, loose balls recovered, charges drawn, screen assists, contested shots and box outs.
“It’s great,” Diabaté told The Charlotte Observer. “It shows that I’ve been putting a lot of work in and just playing hard. That’s what it comes down to. I think it’s really a definition of who’s playing hard. The ones that maybe don’t get the proper recognition, but are still out there doing the work or are very impactful without showing as much on the stat sheet.”
A relentless presence on the inside, the 6-foot-10 forward/center ranked second in the NBA in offensive rebound percentage (16.5) and amassed the third-highest number of offensive rebounds (273) in the league. His 3.7 offensive rebounds per game ranked fifth.
After beginning the 2025-26 campaign as a reserve behind rookie Ryan Kalkbrenner, a left elbow sprain sidelined Kalkbrenner and Diabaté was thrust into the starting lineup alongside Kon Knueppel, LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller and Miles Bridges. Diabaté thrived with the unit, which is a big reason he posted career highs of 7.9 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game in 73 appearances.
Charlotte compiled a 31-16 record in Diabaté’s 47 starts, and he’s eager to add to that total.
“It’s a blessing,” Diabaté said. “It’s only the beginning for me. That’s how I see it. I’m very happy and very blessed about the award and about what’s going on. But at the same time, I’m trying to keep my head on my shoulders, understand that it’s part of the process.
“I’ve got to keep on coming back the next day and still do the same thing, you know? I think it’s the best way to go about it.”
This story was originally published April 30, 2026 at 2:18 PM with the headline "Charlotte Hornets’ Moussa Diabaté wins NBA award for performance in 2025-26 season."
