Hornets big man Moussa Diabate is the winner of the NBA’s Hustle Award for the 2025/26 season, the league announced today.
The Hustle Award, which debuted in 2017, isn’t voted on by media members, players, or executives like other end-of-season awards. It’s based on a statistical formula that utilizes several “hustle” stats and is designed to recognize players whose efforts might not appear in the box score but “impact winning on a nightly basis.”
Among qualified players, Diabate ranked first on a per-minute basis in offensive box outs, fourth in screen assists, eighth in offensive loose balls recovered, 10th in contested two-point shots, and 11th in defensive box outs and contested three-point shots.
Diabate set new career highs in games played (73), starts (47), and minutes per game (26.0) in 2025/26, helping provide some stability at the five for a Hornets team whose center position looked like a major question mark entering the season following the offseason trades of Mark Williams and Jusuf Nurkic. The 24-year-old was among the Hornets who played key roles in the team’s improvement from 19 wins in 2024/25 to 44 victories this season.
Hawks guard Dyson Daniels was the runner-up for the Hustle Award, per the NBA, with 2025 winner Draymond Green of the Warriors finishing in third. Grizzlies rookie Cedric Coward and Knicks swingman Josh Hart rounded out the top five.