Hornets Ink Rookies Hannes Steinbach and Christian Anderson Jr. to First-Round Contracts
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The Charlotte Hornets have signed first-round picks Hannes Steinbach and Christian Anderson Jr. to standard rookie scale contracts, the team announced.
Steinbach, selected No. 14 overall, will earn $5,227,200 in his debut season. If the Hornets exercise their team options in years three and four, the 6’11” forward/center’s four-year deal will be worth $24,981,907.
The 20-year-old spent the 2024/25 campaign with Würzburg in Germany before joining the University of Washington for 2025/26. As a freshman, he landed on the All-Big Ten third team after leading the nation with 11.8 rebounds per game, including 4.2 offensive boards. He also averaged 18.5 points, 1.6 assists, 1.2 blocks and 1.1 steals while logging 34.6 minutes per contest.
Anderson, the No. 18 pick out of Texas Tech, is set to receive $4,257,480 in his first NBA season. His contract projects to total $20,613,239 over four years if Charlotte picks up the final two option years.
The 20-year-old guard started all 33 games for the Red Raiders last season, recording 18.5 points, 7.4 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals over 38.4 minutes. He earned All-Big 12 first-team honors and was named the conference’s Most Improved Player while shooting .472 from the field, .415 from three-point range and .805 at the free-throw line.
Source: Hoops Rumors
