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Royce O'Neale

Charlotte Hornets · Rotation
SF6'6"226 lbage 339 yrs expBaylorKilleen, TX
9th best of 16 on CHAworth +0.1 wins to the rotation
OFF73DEF78
High-level perimeter defender & playmaker
CHA
Charlotte Hornets
Eastern · Southeast · proj. 46-36 (▲+4.1)
→

A 33-year-old 3-and-D glue guy doing exactly what you'd want — 41% from three on low usage, sturdy multi-positional perimeter defense, and zero need for the ball. He won't create his own shot or draw a single foul, but the spacing and switchability still profile as a quality rotation piece.

9.8
PPG
4.8
RPG
2.7
APG
1.1
SPG
0.4
BPG
GP 78MPG 28.4FG% 42.13P% 40.8FT% 71.1TS% 59.6USG% 14.3PER 11.6BPM +0.7VORP 1.5EPM +0.6
2025-26 regular season · bars are percentile at his position

NBA player ratings

0–99 · 2025-26 form
Perimeter defense90
Playmaking83
Shooting78
Scoring75
Rim protection72
Rebounding70
Inside finishing56

Skill ratings are 2025-26 per-game and advanced stats (Basketball-Reference) ranked 0–99 within position (guards vs guards, bigs vs bigs). Overall is anchored to EPM impact on a non-linear curve, nudged by these skills; Offense and Defense come from box plus-minus. A player who missed the latest season is shown from his most recent one.

Career

2017-18 to 2025-26 · 9 seasons
7.4
PPG
4.8
RPG
2.4
APG
678
GAMES
Points 5,009Win Shares 34.8Starts 386Best season 2020-21 · 7.0 ppg
Games played, last three seasons94%

Regular season, 2003-04 onward (Basketball-Reference). Averages are weighted by games played; honours count awards won, not finishes. “Current players” means the 802 who played in the last three seasons.

Trajectory

2023-24 → 2025-26 · age 30 → 32
▬Steady

Royce, at 32, has held steady — 3.0 → 4.0 wins of value over the window.

Age curve▲ Ahead of curve
Aging better than the curve — holding his level longer than most.
2026-27 forecast▼ 3.0 wins (-1.0)
Age takes about 0.8 wins off at 33. Range 1.9–4.1 wins.
Production (BPM)0.0 → +0.7+0.726-27 forecast -0.2
His production has held roughly steady.
2023-24: 0.0 · 79 games2024-25: +0.1 · 75 games2025-26: +0.7 · 78 games2026-27: -0.2 (forecast)23-2425-2626-27
Value to team (wins)3.0 → 4.0+0.926-27 forecast 3.0
His value to a team has been stable.
2023-24: 3.0 · 79 games2024-25: 3.0 · 75 games2025-26: 4.0 · 78 games2026-27: 3.0 (forecast)23-2425-2626-27
Contract value2026-27: worth $6.8M vs $10.9M salary−$4.1M
He is paid more than his play is projected to be worth.
$10.9M salary2023-24: $6.9M · 79 games2024-25: $6.9M · 75 games2025-26: $10.2M · 78 games2026-27: $6.8M (forecast)23-2425-2626-27
Current deal: $10,875,000 cap hit · through '28. On the contract row the flat dashed line is this salary, so the gap to the 2026-27 forecast is the surplus.

Seasons from Basketball-Reference (2023-24 → 2025-26). Production is box plus-minus, a per-possession measure. Value is VORP-based wins, so it also counts games played. Contract value is what each season’s play would fetch on the open market. The dotted 2026-27 point is a forecast: his established level, a year older, assuming a normal season.

Contract

2026-27
$10,875,000Guaranteed
6% of the club’s payroll · 8th of 17 priced deals
Runs through2 seasons
Est. market value$6,804,000 /yr
Surplus−$4,071,000
ABOVE VALUEpaid above his on-court value

Market value is an estimate, not a reported figure: what his play is forecast to fetch on the open market in 2026-27 — his current rating, a year older. Cap thresholds are projected for 2026-27 until the league sets them.

2026-27 off-season

1 move

OFFICIAL means the league’s own records carry the move; AGREED means a trusted insider reported it and the league has not processed it yet. Terms and attribution come from the wire, which is the only source that carries them.

Plays like

same position

Nearest skill profiles across the seven rating axes — who he plays like, not who is as good. The rating beside each name answers that second question.