Brandon Miller got off to a slow start, scoring 18 goals on his Hornets debut

SACRAMENTO, California — Brandon Miller debuted his summer league for Charlotte’s Horn on Monday night, ending with 18 points in one lose 98-77 arrive San Antonio Spurs at Classic California.

Pick #2 showed some jitters in the first three quarters, made six spins and ended the night with seven fouls. Most of his fouls stemmed from him trying to stand up to attacking players.

“I was a bit disappointed because I didn’t want to lose, but I had fun there,” Miller said. “Seeing a different environment from the college experience was exciting. I think I was emotionally comfortable. Let the game come to me, do all the right plays and just be there for my teammates.”

He continued: “We’ve eliminated the restlessness, so we’ll be fine.”

Once Miller’s stress settled, he found the rhythm that helped propel him to being selected second overall in last month’s NBA selection.

He scored 12 of his 18 points in the 4th half and shot 5/11 games, along with 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 save in 34 minutes.

“It’s hard to say — to give him points,” said Hornets summer league coach Marlon Garnett. “I’ll come back to that.”

Garnett said Miller’s speed can be a positive, but he has to learn to control it to limit his spin. Garnett also wants to see Miller be more aggressive and said he plans to help him do that by not letting him handle the ball too much but instead sliding off the screen and attacking.

Miller and Hornets will play the second and final California Classic on Wednesday against the team Los Angeles Lakers before heading to Las Vegas for the NBA 2K24 Summer League.