Charlotte Hornets General Manager Rich Cho announced today that the team has signed forward/center Cody Zeller to a multi-year contract extension.  Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Maintaining and building our young core of players has been a key goal for us the last few years,” Cho said.  “We’re excited that Cody will be part of the Hornets organization for years to come. Cody is a hard worker, a team-first player and a versatile talent that was a large part of our success last year. He has improved in each of his three seasons in the NBA. We look forward to a bright future with Cody as a part of the roster that we are continuing to build.”

Zeller (7-0, 240) was selected by Charlotte with the fourth overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft from Indiana University and has appeared in 220 games, including 109 starts, over his four-year career. He has averaged 7.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 21.5 minutes per game.

Last season, Zeller averaged career highs of 8.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 24.3 minutes per game. He has improved his field goal percentage in each of his first three seasons in Charlotte. He started a career-high 60 games at center for the Hornets in 2015-16 as the team finished with a 48-34 regular-season record before losing in the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs in seven games.