President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Mitch Kupchak announced the Hornets have signed free agent guard Frank Ntilikina. Per team policy, terms of the deal are not disclosed.
Ntilikina (nee-lee-kee-nuh) has appeared in 316 games (65 starts) over six NBA seasons (2017-23) with the New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks, averaging 4.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 17.1 minutes per game. In 47 contests (five starts) with the Mavericks last season, the 25-year-old posted 2.9 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 12.9 minutes per game. Ntilikina was selected as a participant for Team World in the 2018 Rising Stars Challenge.
Born in Belgium and raised in France, Ntilikina played three professional seasons (2014-17) for Strasbourg IG of the Jeep Elite league, the top French division. He helped the French National Team win a bronze medal at the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
Originally selected in the first round (eighth overall) in the 2017 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks, Ntilikina played four seasons in New York before spending the previous two campaigns in Dallas.