Moussa Diabaté

Even as sizzling-hot scoring takeovers have become increasingly prevalent, there remains a rare, opposite side of the spectrum, in which a player dominates a game without scoring a single point. In leaving neither a loose ball, nor a paint-driving opponent unaccounted for since he arrived to the Charlotte Hornets, Moussa Diabaté, time after time, positioned himself for the aforementioned showcase on November 8, 2024. Quickly diagnosing the Indiana Pacers’ horizontally-moving two-man guard game alongside the perimeter, Diabaté, in flawless defensive weak side help, rotates over for a battle of verticals against Ben Sheppard. Through a swat assertive enough to literally be heard, Diabaté elevates, sending the shot away fiercely. The flying Frenchman’s barricading defense helped Charlotte allow just a season-low 83 points, momentum it used to secure a 20-point win. Untouchable in the intangibles, Diabaté’s full box score — even with just one shot attempt — became something to behold: 15 rebounds, one steal, three blocks, a +34 plus-minus, and just a 3-of-16 (18.8 percent) percentage allowed as the nearest defender.

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