Moussa Diabaté, a forward-center for the Charlotte Hornets, has been named the 2025-26 Kia NBA Hustle Award winner.
The league has presented the award each season since 2016-17 to recognize players whose impact shows through effort plays that often fall outside the traditional box score. The selection is based on a statistical formula that measures deflections, loose balls recovered, charges drawn, screen assists, contested shots, and box-outs.
A four-year NBA veteran from France, Diabaté earned the honor for the first time. He placed among the top 11 in six of the nine tracked hustle categories, including first in offensive box-outs per minute and fourth in screen assists per minute.
Diabaté posted career highs across multiple categories. He averaged 7.9 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 1.9 assists, along with 0.99 blocks and 0.77 steals in 26.0 minutes per game across 73 appearances. He also ranked fifth in the league in offensive rebounds per game at 3.7.
His contributions helped Charlotte finish the season 44-38. The team went 31-16 in the 47 games he started.
