Snapshot
- Role: developmental PF; currently behind Reid, O'Neale, Steinbach, and likely Grant Williams.
- 2025-26: 37 GP, 15.5 MPG; .503 FG · .650 FT · 1.0 3PM · 6.0 PTS · 4.0 REB · 0.7 AST · 0.4 STL · 0.2 BLK · 0.7 TO.
- Summer League finale: 18 points on July 18, but the larger role hierarchy did not resolve.
2026-27 projection
| GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | 3PM | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 48 | 10.0 | .445 | .690 | 0.8 | 4.8 | 3.1 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.6 |
Nine-category and points: outside the top 220. Dynasty: top 170-230 only in deep formats; youth and tools are offset by weak per-minute categories and an unclear path.
Range
- Ceiling: Charlotte sells veterans and prioritizes development after the deadline; 20 MPG, 9 PTS, 5 REB and 1.5 threes.
- Median: NBA/G League shuttle with inconsistent spot minutes.
- Floor: Steinbach passes him permanently and Salaün spends most of the year outside the NBA rotation.
Sources
- Hornets 2025-26 game notes — 2026-04-13; season and injury baseline.
- Basketball-Reference 2025-26 Hornets page — accessed 2026-07-18; exact nine-category line.
- NBA Summer League Kings-Hornets recap — 2026-07-18.
- Locked On Hornets rotation discussion — 2026-07-16; local view that Steinbach is ahead and Salaün may need multiple years.
- Hashtag Basketball dynasty rankings — accessed 2026-07-18.
Career record
Pre-NBA: Cholet Basket (France), joining the youth program in 2021 and signing professional terms in July 2023. Across LNB Élite and the FIBA Basketball Champions League in 2023-24 he averaged 9.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.0 steal, and was named BCL Best Young Player in 2024. Won the 2023 Trophée du Futur MVP at 17.7 points and 7.3 rebounds. Draft: 2024, first round, sixth overall, Charlotte Hornets — one of three French players taken in the top six that year.
| Season | Age | Team | GP | MPG | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PM | FG% | FT% | TO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 19 | CHA | 60 | 20.7 | 5.9 | 4.7 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 1.0 | .330 | .713 | 1.0 |
| 2025-26 | 20 | CHA | 37 | 15.5 | 6.0 | 4.0 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 1.0 | .503 | .650 | 0.7 |
| Career | — | CHA | 97 | 18.8 | 5.9 | 4.4 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 1.0 | .385 | .694 | 0.9 |
Durability: 60 games as a rookie with 10 starts, then 37 in year two. The 2025-26 shortfall was not purely rotation displacement — he split the year between Charlotte and the Greensboro Swarm, missed time with a left knee problem and an ankle issue, and a left calf strain ended his season, with no appearance for either club after March 3.
Trajectory: Two seasons produce one genuinely encouraging signal and one warning. The efficiency jump is real and large — .330 to .503 from the field, .283 to .434 from three — but it came on a shrinking sample in a smaller role, and the counting stats did not move: 5.9 points to 6.0, and the assist and stock rates went backwards. He is a 21-year-old former top-six pick competing against Charlotte's veteran forward group for minutes he has not yet earned. He becomes fantasy-relevant if Charlotte moves veterans at the deadline and commits to a development plan, or if injuries clear the power-forward rotation ahead of him; absent that he is a G League shuttle player whose shooting gains need a bigger sample before they can be trusted.
Career sources: ESPN career stats · Tidjane Salaün — Wikipedia · SI: Salaün added to injury report after Greensboro recall · Yahoo Sports: Hornets 2025-26 player grades
Open questions
- Can Salaün add a reliable defensive category or assist rate rather than merely threes and rebounds?
- Will Charlotte use a G League-heavy development plan again?