Brandon Miller Bio
Brandon Jordan Miller (born November 22, 2002) is an American professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A small forward listed at 6 feet 7 inches and 200 pounds, he plays the wing position for Charlotte after being selected second overall in the 2023 NBA Draft. He completed one season of college basketball at Alabama, where he earned consensus All-American honors and was named the SEC Player of the Year. In his first NBA campaign he was selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, establishing himself as one of the league’s promising young scorers.
Early Life and Background
Brandon Jordan Miller was born in Nashville, Tennessee, and grew up in nearby Antioch, Tennessee. He attended Cane Ridge High School, where he developed into one of the top high school basketball players in the country. His father, Darrell Miller, played college football as a tight end at Alabama under head coach Gene Stallings in the early 1990s, giving the family a direct connection to the Crimson Tide athletic program.
Miller’s older brother, Darrell Jr., played college basketball at Fisk University and continued his career professionally overseas. His older sister, Britany, has played basketball at Cumberland University. Raised in a competitive athletic household, Miller grew up around organized sports and developed his game against family members before reaching high school, where his combination of size, scoring, and versatility first gained national attention.
Path to Basketball
Miller emerged as a star during his junior season at Cane Ridge High School, when he averaged 23.3 points, eight rebounds, 4.3 assists, 2.6 blocks, and 2.3 steals per game. That performance earned him the Tennessee Gatorade Player of the Year award and made him one of the most talked-about prospects in his class.
As a senior, Miller repeated as the Tennessee Gatorade Player of the Year and was named Tennessee Mr. Basketball after averaging 24.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 2.3 steals per game. He also appeared in the prestigious Jordan Brand Classic and the McDonald’s All-American Game, confirming his status as a consensus five-star recruit in the 2022 class. His first scholarship offer came from Tennessee State, which was coached by his cousin, Brian Collins.
On November 1, 2021, Miller committed to Alabama after considering Kansas and Tennessee State, and he also explored professional options in Australia’s NBL and the NBA G League Ignite. He arrived in Tuscaloosa as one of the most decorated freshman recruits in program history.
Brandon Miller Career
Early Career (2022–2023)
Miller’s lone season at Alabama instantly positioned him among the top freshmen in college basketball. He was placed on the Naismith College Player of the Year and Julius Erving Award watch lists before the season began, and on November 21, 2022, he earned his first Southeastern Conference (SEC) Freshman of the Week honor. He wasted little time announcing his scoring ability at the major-conference level.
On December 17, 2022, Miller erupted for 36 points and six rebounds against Gonzaga, demonstrating the kind of perimeter game that scouts had projected. He later set an Alabama freshman record with 41 points on February 22, 2023, in a 78–76 overtime win against South Carolina. Miller finished his only college season averaging an SEC-high 18.8 points per game to go with 8.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists, and he was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2023 SEC men’s basketball tournament after posting 20.3 points and 11 rebounds across three games.
Alabama Crimson Tide Breakthrough (2022–2023)
At the close of the regular season, Miller swept the major SEC individual awards, taking home SEC Player of the Year, SEC Rookie of the Year, and first-team All-SEC honors. He was also a consensus second-team All-American, landing on the first teams of the Associated Press and Sporting News and the second teams of the NABC and USBWA.
Miller added two more national freshman honors, claiming the USBWA National Freshman of the Year and the NABC Freshman of the Year awards, along with the Wayman Tisdale Award as the nation’s top freshman. Although he struggled in the NCAA tournament, shooting 19 percent from the field across Alabama’s three games, his body of work for the season was enough to make him a top NBA prospect. Following the early tournament exit, Miller announced that he would forgo his remaining college eligibility and declare for the 2023 NBA draft.
Charlotte Hornets Era (2023–Present)
The Charlotte Hornets selected Brandon Miller with the second overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft. He made his NBA regular-season debut on October 25, 2023, scoring 13 points in a 116–110 win over the Atlanta Hawks. Less than a month later, on November 18, 2023, he scored a then career-high 29 points in a 122–108 loss to the New York Knicks, and he matched that 29-point figure on January 29, 2024, again against New York.
On February 4, 2024, Miller pushed his career high to 35 points in a 115–99 loss to the Indiana Pacers, and he later raised it to 38 points on November 21, 2024, in a 123–121 overtime win against the Detroit Pistons. During the 2024–25 NBA season, Miller started 27 games and averaged 21.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 3.6 assists. On January 23, 2025, he was ruled out for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn scapholunate ligament in his right wrist.
Miller returned for the 2025–26 season and made 65 starts for the Hornets, posting averages of 20.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 3.3 assists. On May 6, 2026, he underwent surgery to address instability in his left shoulder.
Driving Style and Strengths
Although best known as a scorer, Brandon Miller combines perimeter shooting with the size to play through contact on the wing. He has shown an ability to attack closeouts, finish at the rim, and serve as a secondary playmaker, which is reflected in his assist averages during his Hornets tenure.
Notable Events and Milestones
Among his signature achievements, Miller’s 41-point performance against South Carolina set the Alabama freshman scoring record, and his 38-point outburst against Detroit set a new personal best in the NBA. Becoming the second overall pick in the 2023 draft, earning NBA All-Rookie First Team honors, and winning SEC Player of the Year in his only college season stand as the early defining milestones of his career.
Brandon Miller Career Wins
Brandon Miller has accumulated a mix of team and individual victories across high school, college, and the NBA. His Tennessee Mr. Basketball selection and McDonald’s All-American nod headline his high school accomplishments, while at Alabama he earned conference player of the year, conference tournament MVP, and consensus All-American recognition. In the NBA, his first career regular-season win came in his debut against Atlanta, and he has since added multiple 30-point performances to his resume.
Alabama Crimson Tide Highlights
Miller’s single season at Alabama produced SEC Player of the Year, SEC Rookie of the Year, SEC tournament MVP, and first-team All-SEC honors, as well as consensus second-team All-American and the Wayman Tisdale Award. He set the Alabama freshman scoring record with 41 points against South Carolina and led the conference in scoring at 18.8 points per game.
Other Wins and Performances
At Cane Ridge High School, Miller was a two-time Tennessee Gatorade Player of the Year and was named Tennessee Mr. Basketball, and he participated in both the Jordan Brand Classic and the McDonald’s All-American Game. His 38-point game against Detroit in 2024 and his 35-point effort against Indiana earlier that year rank among his top individual NBA performances.
Brandon Miller Family
Family Background and Basketball Lineage
Brandon Miller comes from a deeply athletic family. His father, Darrell Miller, played college football as a tight end at Alabama under head coach Gene Stallings in the early 1990s, while his older brother, Darrell Jr., played college basketball at Fisk University and continued his career professionally overseas. His older sister, Britany, has played basketball at Cumberland University, and his cousin, Brian Collins, is the head coach of Tennessee State’s men’s basketball program.
Personal Life
Miller has said on an episode of Paul George’s podcast that his GOAT, meaning Greatest Of All Time, is George, and that he modeled his game after the veteran wing. He grew up in Antioch, Tennessee, a Nashville suburb, and maintains ties to the region that produced his high school success.
2025 Season Performance
The 2024–25 campaign represented Brandon Miller’s second NBA season, and he opened the year as a featured scorer for the Charlotte Hornets. Across 27 starts, he averaged 21.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 3.6 assists, confirming the offensive growth that earned him All-Rookie honors the previous season. He built on his rookie-year scoring highs with multiple 30-point performances early in the schedule.
Miller’s season was cut short on January 23, 2025, when he was ruled out for the remainder of the year after undergoing surgery to repair a torn scapholunate ligament in his right wrist. The injury prevented him from building on his strong start and kept him off the floor during the second half of the schedule.
Despite the abbreviated season, Miller’s per-game production suggested a clear step forward, and the Hornets outlook heading into 2025–26 centered on his continued development as a primary scoring option. The organization invested in his recovery, expecting him to return as a central piece of the team’s young core.
