NEW YORK – Charlotte Hornets forward-center Moussa Diabaté has been named the 2025-26 Kia NBA Hustle Award winner.

Presented annually since the 2016-17 season, the Kia NBA Hustle Award honors a player who makes effort plays that do not often appear in the traditional box score but help drive team success.  The winner is determined by a statistical formula that incorporates the following hustle metrics: deflections, loose balls recovered, charges drawn, screen assists, contested shots and box-outs.

A four-year NBA veteran from France, Diabaté earns the honor for the first time.  He ranked in the top 11 in the NBA in six of the nine hustle categories used to determine the award recipient, including first in offensive box-outs per minute and fourth in screen assists per minute.

Diabaté also averaged career highs of 7.9 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.99 blocks and 0.77 steals in 26.0 minutes in 73 games.  He ranked fifth in the NBA in offensive rebounds per game (3.7).  Diabaté helped the Hornets finish 44-38, including 31-16 in his 47 starts.

For more information about Diabaté’s impact this season and the Kia NBA Hustle Award, click here.