National Basketball Association

Hornets' Kidd-Gilchrist improving offensively, stepping into leadership role

Published Mar. 18, 2015 4:19 p.m. ET

foxsports

The Charlotte Hornets are having another morning practice and point guard Kemba Walker has the ball getting ready to start the offense. The defender who checks Walker is small forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who's at least six inches taller. At first glance, it may seem like a mismatch, the gnat-like quickness of Walker going against a taller adversary.

Kidd-Gilchrist isn't your average small forward, though

"You think he's quicker than me?" Kidd-Gilchrist asked about Walker. "I don't think so."

It's that mindset and special skillset like his quickness that has made Kidd-Gilchrist one of the most versatile defenders in the NBA. For instance, against the Chicago Bulls on March 13, he was asked to guard four different positions -- point guard, shooting guard, small forward and power forward. He never once shied away.

"That's just who I am, man," said Kidd-Gilchrist, who is in his third season in the league after being taken second overall in the 2012 NBA Draft. "I don't care who I have to guard, I just want to win the basketball game. ... It ain't hard to guard nobody except Kemba Walker in practice. I get the best of him and he gets the best of me.

"That's my practice right there. I make him better and he makes me better."

More importantly, Kidd-Gilchrist makes the Hornets substantially better.

Charlotte is 3-11 when he doesn't play. To put that into perspective, the Hornets have a winning record without Walker and center Al Jefferson. Moreover, Charlotte is 247 points better when he plays as opposed to when he's off the court. When Kidd-Gilchrist plays, the opposition has an effective field goal percentage of 46.8. When he doesn't? Opponents have it much easier, posting an effective field goal percentage of 49.7.

Finally, when Kidd-Gilchrist plays, teams are averaging 97.7 points per 100 possessions. When he sits, the Hornets allow 108.6 points per 100 possessions.

"He works hard and everyone sees that," Walker said. "As he goes, we go."

However, as much recognition as Kidd-Gilchrist gets for his defensive prowess, and rightly so, his offense has improved dramatically -- so much so that he now has to be considered a legitimate threat to pull up for a jump shot. He spent all summer with Hornets shooting coach Mark Price trying to fix what may have been the worst jump shot in the entire NBA. Price broke his form and movement down to the very basics and tried to rebuilt the shot from the ground up.

And while it's still not a thing of beauty, it's far more effective. Kidd-Gilchrist is shooting 50 percent from within 10-16 feet -- up from last season's ridiculous 15.4 percent. From outside 16 feet, he's shooting 38.7 percent.

"With how hard I work, I don't shy away now," Kidd-Gilchrist said. "I'm a leader on this court and I have that role now."

Even though he's still only 21 years old, he knows he belongs in this league. He has high expectations and he's not afraid to say so to anybody who will listen, including his much older teammates.

"I don't think I'm young anymore, personally," Kidd-Gilchrist said. "I think I'm a veteran in this league, especially on the defensive end. ... I've always been a vocal player on the defensive end because I hate to lose."