Charlotte Hornets coach Charles Lee discusses LaMelo Ball's ankle injury before Tuesday night's game against the New Orleans Pelicans. By Roderick Boone| Charlotte Observer
Tre Mann knew it.
Offseason training sessions at Queens University, where the Charlotte Hornets guard was getting himself right after missing the bulk of the 2024-25 campaign with a back injury, gave Mann a glimpse into the tasks of an NBA talent evaluator. Some of Mann’s time in the gym coincided with pre-draft workouts, allowing him to see precisely what it was like for executives and scouts to mine the player pool leading into the draft.
One look at Sion James and Mann was already convinced.
“It was first, the physical aspect, just seeing him — he’s huge,” Mann said of the 6-5, 220-pound rookie. “And then my first thought was Lou Dort. Just seeing him work out. I was like, ‘OK, nobody can score on him right now. And I was like, Lou Dort again.’ Then I started doing research, looking at his film like, ‘Oh, he was a scorer. He used to score the ball. He’s good offensively, too.’
“And I was like, ‘OK, we’ve got to have him. He’s versatile.”
The Hornets agreed, taking James with the third pick of the NBA Draft’s second round in June. With Charlotte’s guard-heavy roster, he wasn’t as celebrated by some akin to the welcoming of others in the Hornets’ 2025 draft class like Kon Knueppel, Liam McNeeley and Ryan Kalkbrenner.
Sion James of the Charlotte Hornets plays against the Brooklyn Nets during their Oct. 22, 2025, game at Spectrum Center. Jacob Kupferman Getty Images
But James is doing more than holding his own with the Hornets. He entered the week second in the NBA in 3-point percentage at 72.2, draining 13 of 18 attempts, and averaged 12.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and two assists in his first two starts, taking full advantage of the opportunity born out Brandon Miller’s extended absence nursing a shoulder injury.
James is quickly proving Mann’s initial assessment was on point.
“It’s awesome, to be honest,” James said when Mann’s words were relayed to him. “Tre is one of the most talented players in the league, and for him to be someone that sees me and speaks to me like that … Since I’ve been with the team, he’s been someone who’s consistently been in my ear, someone who’s consistently been on my side, talking me through things, teaching me through things.
“It’s invaluable to have somebody like him on your side.”
The Hornets probably feel the same way about James.
Not overly flashy, the 22-year-old has excelled defensively and expanded his offensive repertoire, as evidenced by that impressive showing behind the 3-point arc.
He’s straightforward and fulfills the duties asked of him, whether that’s getting up into someone on defense, screening on the backside of pick-and-rolls, offensive rebounding. Whatever.
James remains confident and comfortable in his role, unfazed by external pressure or expectations — only a few of the qualities that endear him to the staff.
“I love he’s keeping it simple offensively,” coach Charles Lee said. “That’s the biggest thing to me. I think sometimes as a young player you want to come in and you want to show everybody all these things you can do. And you have to be able to just do the things that are being asked of you in that moment. And Sion has done that....
“And he does a great job in the seam and creating indecision, offensive rebounding at a high clip. So, all those things are kind of like the glue pieces of the offense while also just catching and shooting when you’re open. And he’s doing all those things at such a high level. So, the fact that he has embraced his role and does it willingly and excitedly is what you love about him, because that’s somebody that just wants to impact winning and impact the team as best as he possibly can.”
Really, James is simply showing off some of the same skills that rapidly made him a favorite of Duke coach Jon Scheyer in the lone year the Georgia native spent in Durham after transferring in from Tulane.
“Sion was better than I could have ever asked for,” Scheyer told The Observer. “We knew we got a great one when we signed him. But I think it’s just his professionalism, his feel for the game, his competitiveness that set him apart. And so as a coach, when you can put five guys on the floor that had that level of competitiveness, feel, selflessness, that’s a dream. And that’s what we had.
“Sion being that guy to be out there with Kon and Cooper (Flagg) and Khaman (Malauch) and these guys and Tyrese (Proctor), he was really secure in who he was and how to make everybody around him better.”
Duke head coach Jon Scheyer talks with Kon Knueppel (7) and Sion James (14) during the first half of Duke's Oct. 19, 2024, exhibition game against Lincoln (Pa) University at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Ethan Hyman ehyman@newsobserver.com
Throw in James’ unique no-frills approach and he’s also an All-American human being by most accounts. Scheyer understands that as much as anybody.
“Sions don’t grow on trees,” Scheyer said. “It’s very rare. Sion, the maturity … First of all, just from a physical standpoint, I know how other teams looked at us when we walked onto the floor and Sion is starting at guard for us. It provides you to be big, it also just provides you with the physical presence.”
It went far beyond that, however.
“And what I loved most about Sion, though, is he never fought coaching one time,” Scheyer said. “He was always hungry to learn more, always felt like he could do better and was just like Kon. He was hard on himself, always took responsibility. He came off the bench right away for us, didn’t complain. Put him in the starting lineup, was ready when his number was called.
“Like, all right. What more do you want?”
Knueppel got to see James’ growth up close and personal in their nine-month journey together with the Blue Devils, the two becoming good friends. He’s aware of James’ ability more than anyone else on the Hornets’ roster and is keen on the basketball IQ of his running mate at Duke.
“I think he’s just a smart player,” Knueppel said. “Obviously, he’s physically gifted, he’s super strong and athletic. But I think where he separates himself is with his mind. He doesn’t make mistakes on both ends of the floor, doesn’t try to play too outside of himself and just makes the right play.”
Still, there will be growing pains, such as when James couldn’t get the inbounds pass in during crunch time in Tuesday’s loss in New Orleans, turning it over. Not everything is going to run smoothly.
Adjusting on the fly is key and James understands it will be a gradual process.
“A lot of it’s just getting used to playing with different players,” he said. “That’s the big thing. It took a while for us for our Duke team last year and all the Tulane teams I was with to get used to playing together, and it’s a lot of the same year. The talent level on this team is unbelievable. I’m just trying to find where I fit in.”
His placement is snug in the Hornets’ universe, cosigned by Mann.
“Just now knowing him as a person,” Mann said, “that was the perfect fit for what we want to build and what Jeff (Peterson, the Hornets’ president of basketball operations) and them want to build. What they talk about, is just how he is as a person and just how he carries himself.
“He’s a pro already. I think Sion is going to be really good for us.”