After rejection Kobe Stewart on Monday Hornets filled a 21-man roster spot in the offseason by signing a guard No Mbengoannounced today by the team (via Twitter).
Mbeng, who went undrafted out of Yale in 2025, was named the Ivy League Player of the Year in his final college season and earned conference Defensive Player of the Year honors for the third straight year. The 6’4″ shooting guard spent most of last season with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, averaging 6.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.9 steals in 27.4 minutes per game over 41 appearances for Miami’s G League affiliate.
Mbeng received an NBA call-up in March, signing a pair of 10-day contracts and then the rest of the season with the Jazz. The 23-year-old played big minutes for a tanking Utah team throughout the stretch, posting 8.1 ppg, 4.1 ppg, 3.8 ppg and 2.3 ppg in 15 appearances (32.8 mpg). During that stretch, he made 63.8% of his field goal attempts from beyond the arc, although he made just 19.4% of his three-pointers and 64.0% of his free throws.
The Hornets signed and waived several players last week with the goal of having them play for the Greensboro Swarm in the G League this season. That’s likely the plan for Mbengo as well, meaning his deal is unlikely to happen Agreement 10 that would earn him a bonus of up to $91K if Charlotte waives him and then spends at least 60 days with the Swarm.
However, Skyforce still controls Mbenga’s NBAGL return rights, so Greensboro would need to make a trade to acquire them.
