Moussa “Moose” Diabaté earned his status as a celebrated fan favorite (MOOOSE!!!) with his shockingly energetic and effective play. A Clippers’ reject, after being drafted by them in the second round and a couple years on a two-way NBA/G-League contract, he began his Hornets career as a free agent, signed in the offseason of 2024 to another two-way contract. He expected to spend time in the G-League, fourth on the depth chart behind starting center Mark Williams, backup Nick Richards, and Uncle Taj Gibson, the resident gray-beard mentor for the young bigs.
Diabaté had little opportunity to play meaningful minutes in NBA games for L.A., but, that first year in Charlotte, their main roster big men, Williams and Richards, missed significant time to injuries, so Diabaté finally got his chance, playing in 72 games for the Hornets, including eight starts. His effective rebounding and defense, combined with Hornets’ injuries, led to a full NBA contract on February 8th 2025: a three year minimum deal with team options, a big step up for the young Parisian, and a stellar bargain for the Hornets.
Charlotte fans endured a tough season that year, as injuries afflicted all of their better players like LaMelo Ball, Mark Williams, Brandon Miller and Miles Bridges, but Diabaté’s relentless attack-dog ferocity, eye-opening quickness and athleticism, and his tenacity on defense and the boards all combined to give the fans something to cheer for. He struggled a bit on offense with the ball in his hands that year, but his offensive rebounding and defense were game changers, despite his being absurdly undersized as an NBA center at about 225 lbs that third year in the NBA.
Though lightweight, he is long and wiry, measured in 2022 at the combine with a 7′ 2.5″ wingspan and legit NBA center standing reach of 9′ 1.5″, to go with a scrawny but shredded 217 pound weight at 20 years old. His 2.7% body-fat measurement broke the record for lowest in combine history, and, since they stopped taking that measurement recently, that record will endure indefinitely.
After coming back from the 2025 offseason sporting more lean muscle mass, up to around 233 lbs, Diabaté was passed over for the opening night starting center spot in favor of the towering rookie, Ryan Kalkbrenner, who, after 5 years at Creighton, brought good NBA center size to the position right out of the gate. No complaint from The Moose, of course, he just wrecked his second string competition until Kalkbrenner’s injury opened the door to a starting gig for Diabaté a third of the way through the year.
After that, Diabaté led the Hornets’ surprisingly good defense as a card carrying member of the Dream Five™, featuring him, LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, Kon Kneuppel, and Miles Bridges. The Hornets surged to finish the season with a winning record, and their defense was a major part of that success. On the full season, the Hornets held opponents to just 111.2 points scored, on average, good for 7th lowest in the league. None of those starting players, other than Diabaté, would be considered a plus defender, so his value as a stiff defensive backbone for the team should not be underestimated.
Moussa’s elite energy on both ends of the court lifted the Dream Five above what any rational observer would have expected, helping take the group from ordinary to sublime with his intense effort of play, remarkable athleticism and team-first mind-set. His offensive rebounding was absolutely elite: he grabbed the third most offensive rebounds in the NBA last year while playing in 73 games, 26 minutes per game on average. At times he played shut-down defense against some of the best in the league, including clamping down on MVP candidate Victor Wembanyama in a midseason Hornets win over the Spurs.
A less discussed aspect of his game was his vastly improved offensive play. More than once he surprised his defender with a deft and long Eurostep for a layup or dunk, and he became good at finding the open shooter with a kick-out for a dagger three off of an offensive rebound. He was not a prolific scorer, but he was efficient, hitting 63% of his shots from the floor, and his 1.9 assist to 1 turnover ratio was solid, especially the very low turnovers.
Diabaté was often overlooked as a serious and capable starting center, which perhaps should be no surprise, given his pedestrian background as a G-Leaguer, his underweight size, and his minimum contract, leading some fans to look longingly around the league for a bigger, better and more established center to push Moussa to the bench. But, the better advanced stats liked him very much last year. For instance, DARKO.app’s Daily Plus Minus (DPM) rated him at about +1.5 at the end of the year, and they project him to continue improving next year, if healthy, given that he was just 23 years old to begin last season.
For perspective, +1.5 is a top 65 rating in the league, and some some other notable names with a similar DPM were Paul George and LeBron at +1.5, and a slew of lower-level stars at +1.6, like Anthony Davis, Dylan Harper, and Lauri Markkanen.
April 30th 2025, Diabaté won the NBA Hustle Award, the only league wide award based upon statistics, specifically, hustle stats, like number of shots contested, box-outs, screens set and charges taken. Prior winners include Marcus Smart, Draymond Green and Alex Caruso, elite defenders all. If Moussa is healthy and on a good team in his prime, this writer believes he will earn more league wide recognition, i.e. be named to the All Defensive Team, with potential upside of being considered for Defensive Player of the Year.
When trying to describe Diabaté’s game, some have compared him to Dennis Rodman, also a second round pick, long, athletic, and skinny with wiry strength and a relentless high energy drive for rebounding. Rodman was already 25 years old when he entered the league, and it took him several years to begin to build a reputation as a star with his defense and rebounding. He had an unbelievably successful career, Hall of Fame, and he led the league in rebounding seven years straight, when he was 30-36 years old. Of course nobody projects Moussa to have that level of success, but his game brings that comparison to mind.
Diabaté’s $2.5 million contract for this season must be one of the best bargains in the league: DARKO.app estimated that the fair value for his performance in the NBA is $28.4 million, a hefty $25.9 million above his salary. He will be an unrestricted free agent next year, so the Hornets will have to pay market price to keep him, but as a perfect role model of “Hornets DNA”, as their defensive backbone, and a highly effective starter, they’d be well advised to lock him up long term.
In the meantime, Diabaté showed up to training camp sporting another eight pounds of shredded fast twitch muscle, and he tallied three steals and two blocks in 19 minutes of play in the preseason opener vs. the Nets. As the season gets rolling, fans will joyfully bellow “MOOOOSE!!!” at the top of their lungs with his every dunk, block and offensive rebound. After a really good one, if there is a little break in the action, we just might get to see him with his trademark antlers up: thumb tips to temples, palms forward, fingers splayed, a celebration of his wild athletic talent, mirrored back by his myriad fans in the stands.
