Grayson Allen has a new NBA jersey this season, the latest stop on his professional journey since his career with the Duke Blue Devils.
This is also the closest Allen has been on a team since playing in Durham — he’s now a member of the Charlotte Hornets.
And in the season opener on Wednesday, Allen was a shining star for Charlotte.
In fact, it was a big Duke connection. Allen had to play more because the Hornets are missing Kon Knueppel due to injury. So when one Blue Devils great had to miss the game, another made sure to fill his shoes admirably.
Grayson Allen Stats
Allen and the Hornets hit the road for their opener to play in Brooklyn against the Nets.
The veteran Allen didn’t start, but he got 29 minutes off the bench and made the most of them.
Allen scored 21 points. He made 6-of-9 shots from the floor, which included 5-for-8 from 3-point range. Allen also made all four of his foul shots.
Elsewhere on the floor, Allen dished out four assists and grabbed three rebounds. He did have four turnovers.
In a game the Hornets won 110-103, Allen was a plus-20 in his time on the floor.
The Hornets also had another former Duke guard get big minutes with Knueppel out. Sion James got the start at one of the guard spots and played 27 minutes. He struggled, though, scoring just three points on 1-for-7 shooting (1-for-6 from 3) while grabbing three rebounds, swiping one steal and giving away one turnover.
Allen, on this night, made up for the absence of Knueppel and the struggles of James with his blistering shooting performance.
Grayson Allen NBA Timeline
Allen was drafted No. 21 overall in the 2018 NBA Draft out of Duke by the Utah Jazz.
He played just one season in Utah, then got two with the Memphis Grizzlies.
Allen then was a member of the Milwaukee Bucks for two seasons before playing the last three years with the Phoenix Suns.
He led the NBA in 3-point shooting in 2023-24 when he made 46.1% of his 3s.
Overall for his career, Allen has shot 40.3% from beyond the arc and averaged 11.2 points per game.
Allen had his best scoring season last year with the Suns, pouring in 16.5 points per game. He also dished out 3.8 assists per game.
That carried over into his opener of the new season in his first game with the Hornets.
It’s not clear whether Allen will get the chance to do quite as much once Knueppel is back, but at least for now, Charlotte clearly has found that it can count on Allen to make good things happen on the court.
Duke Star Grayson Allen Makes Immediate Impact in New NBA Home