Gordon Hayward jostled the lines during the last offseason by leaving Boston to join Charlotte, thus finding the makings of a “franchise-player” but with more experience than when he was in Utah.
A new major challenge that he took up brilliantly with regard to his stats line, Gordon Hayward notably reached the 25 point mark on 14 times (his best total over a season since 2017) and even offered himself a career record 44 points against Atlanta.
One of the surprise teams of the season
More generally, he has also been beneficial in the game of Hornets by his experience and the permanent threat he poses to his opponents. In this regard, his integration into the James Borrego collective was therefore a success.
“I think I had a solid year. It was cool the way we played and I was able to put myself in positions where I like to be with the ball, creating for others and for myself. I have a lot of respect for coach Borrego and the staff. I think they have done a great job this year. From a basketball perspective, I couldn’t be happier for deciding to come here ”, he said during his end-of-season assessment report.
The winger particularly appreciated the way his team played on both sides of the floor, making Charlotte one of the surprise teams of the season but also one of the most pleasant to watch.
“The way we played defensively, by cutting the pass lines, getting stops, mixing between the zone and the individual, I think that we have really made progress on that over the season. The way we circulated the ball too, because it’s hard to defend when a team is circulating the ball like that. If we manage to keep this approach and consolidate certain other things, I am definitely optimistic about our future ”, he added.
An end of the season marred by his injury
Everything went almost perfectly until his foot injury contracted in early April, which ended his season. Another blow for the player who had to deal with serious physical problems for four years and had chained a broken hand and a sprained ankle during the 2019-2020 season. Add to that the injury of rookie LaMelo Ball, and Charlotte, briefly fourth in the Eastern Conference, tumbled to 10th place at the end of the regular season (33v-39d).
“It’s really disappointing and very frustrating, especially with what happened here towards the end. I felt like we were in a good position before I hurt myself. It’s always hard to have to sit down, I probably know that better than anyone over the past two years. I think we are going in the right direction despite everything ”, he estimated.
With a young workforce, a rookie playmaker who has shown very good things and a franchise-player of his caliber, the offseason promises to be exciting on Charlotte’s side. What if after having played the mentors, Gordon Hayward improvises recruiting?
“I think the way we played this season has turned a lot of heads and made a lot of guys want to be a part of it. Clearly, I will be able to recruit! We play a nice basketball here in Charlotte, we circulate the ball. We’re playing at a fast pace, it’s exciting. We have a bright future, I hope some guys want to join the ship. “
| Gordon Hayward | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Tirs | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | Until | Pd | Fte | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2010-11 | UTH | 72 | 17 | 48.5 | 47.3 | 71.1 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 5.4 |
| 2011-12 | UTH | 66 | 31 | 45.6 | 34.6 | 83.2 | 0.9 | 2.6 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 11.9 |
| 2012-13 | UTH | 72 | 29 | 43.5 | 41.5 | 82.7 | 0.7 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 3.0 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 14.1 |
| 2013-14 | UTH | 77 | 36 | 41.3 | 30.4 | 81.6 | 0.8 | 4.3 | 5.1 | 5.2 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 2.8 | 0.5 | 16.2 |
| 2014-15 | UTH | 76 | 34 | 44.5 | 36.4 | 81.2 | 0.7 | 4.2 | 4.9 | 4.1 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 2.7 | 0.4 | 19.3 |
| 2015-16 | UTH | 80 | 36 | 43.3 | 34.9 | 82.4 | 0.8 | 4.2 | 5.0 | 3.7 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 2.5 | 0.3 | 19.7 |
| 2016-17 | UTH | 73 | 35 | 47.1 | 39.8 | 84.4 | 0.7 | 4.7 | 5.4 | 3.5 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 21.9 |
| 2017-18 | FOREST | 1 | 5 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 |
| 2018-19 | FOREST | 72 | 26 | 46.6 | 33.3 | 83.4 | 0.7 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 3.4 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 11.5 |
| 2019-20 | FOREST | 52 | 34 | 50.0 | 38.3 | 85.5 | 1.1 | 5.6 | 6.7 | 4.1 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 17.5 |
| 2020-21 | NO | 44 | 34 | 47.3 | 41.5 | 84.3 | 0.8 | 5.0 | 5.9 | 4.1 | 1.7 | 1.2 | 2.1 | 0.3 | 19.6 |
| Total | 685 | 31 | 45.3 | 37.0 | 82.5 | 0.8 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 0.4 | 15.6 | |
