Former Gators star leads NBA in points off the bench

Although it’s early in the season, former Florida guard Tre Mann is making his presence felt in a major way. And even more impressively, he’s doing so while coming off the bench as a member of the Charlotte Hornets.

Through six games, Mann is averaging 19.2 points per game behind 46.7 percent shooting. He’s also connecting on 44.4 percent of his three-point attemps and made all 13 of his free throws.

As of Monday evening, Mann’s 115 points is the most scored in the NBA for a bench player. Checking in at No. 2 is Boston’s Payton Pritchard, who has scored 110 points, followed by the Warriors’ Buddy Hield at 105 points. Those three have pretty much separated themselves from the pack.

“I give all the credit to the coaching staff and my teammates, as well as the offense we run,” Tre Mann recently told Sportskeeda in an interview. “It puts me in good positions to make plays. When I’m in those positions, I know I have the confidence of my teammates and coaches to make the right plays. So, I just go out there and play.”

In Charlotte’s season-opening victory over Houston, Mann poured in 24 points and connected on four three-point attempts. He also recorded six rebounds, one assists and a block. He has since followed that up with point totals of 17,14, 27, 23, and most recently 10 this past Saturday against Boston.

“Proud of Tre, very happy with the way Tre played,” Hornets head coach Charles Lee said after the season opener. “I even thought that he took it up another notch in the second half… And again, defensively just really good.”

During the 2021 NBA Draft, Mann was selected 18th overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder. He played two seasons for the hometown Gators, averaging 16 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists during his sophomore season before departing for the league.

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