The Hornets Are Quietly Becoming One of the NBA’s Hottest Teams

BOSTON — Quick, think of the last time the Charlotte Hornets were good.

Anyone else thinking of Larry Johnson in a dress?

Charlotte is 32–31, above .500 for the first time since late October and on pace to finish with a winning record for the first time in four years. Zoom in, and it looks even better. Since Jan. 22, the Hornets are 16–3. They have the No. 1 offense in the NBA during that stretch. They are first in net rating. Defensively, they are seventh, which, if you ask head coach Charles Lee, is the most impressive stat of them all.

“When I came in last year, if you asked the players, you asked the coaching staff, there was times where they’re like, ‘Are we ever going to talk about offense?’ ” Lee told me in the TD Garden hallway hours before the Hornets’ 29-point whipping of the Celtics. “We just did so much defense. I think even training camp practice No. 1 was all defense.”

Yes, the Hornets have had good years since the mid-1990s Grandmama days. They made a couple of conference semifinals in the early 2000s, made a pair of postseason appearances in the ill-fated Bobcats years and won 48 games a decade ago when a young Kemba Walker was on the rise.

But really, sustainably good? Never.

Until now.

In 2024, the Hornets, under the leadership of new head of basketball operations Jeff Peterson, tabbed Lee to be head coach. Charlotte won 21 games the season before he took over. In his first year, they won 19. LaMelo Ball played 47 games that season. Brandon Miller played 27. The only time they were in the news was when a trade involving Mark Williams was vetoed at the last minute by the Lakers.

This season, a little different. Charlotte has won six straight entering Friday night’s game against Miami. All six have been by at least 15 points. The offense, ranked in the bottom five of the league last season, is in the top five in this one. The defense, 24th last season, has climbed to a respectable 15th. “You can tell how competitive they are,” said Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla, “especially on the margins.” They are 2 ½ games back of the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference. They are four back of fifth.

“We try not to get so focused on our record at this point,” says Lee. “The goal is just to get better every day, and to find that competitive spirit physically, continue to grow our mindset in our basketball IQ. The fact that we are in a position right now though to be having these meaningful games, and you’re in the standings competing for a play-in or playoff spot, it’s exciting.”

Indeed. Here’s the thing—the Hornets should have been in this position a long time ago. Recent drafts have been a disaster. In 2018, Charlotte drafted Shai Gilgeous-Alexander … and traded him for the rights to Miles Bridges. In 2022, the Hornets selected Jalen Duren … and promptly offloaded him for a pick package that included one first-rounder. A year earlier they drafted James Bouknight over (among others) Alperen Şengün, Trey Murphy III and Jalen Johnson.

More recent drafts have been kinder. Brandon Miller, the 2023 Victor Wembanyama draft consolation prize, is averaging 21 points per game, connecting on 37.7% of his threes this season. Kon Knueppel, last June’s lottery pick, is shooting 43.6% from three-point range and is a leading candidate for Rookie of the Year.

Knueppel, Lee says, “is just a dog, just a baller.” Lee has been wowed by Knueppel’s intelligence. “Half the time he’s trying to make half the play calls,” says Lee, “and I’m down for it.” Lee has deployed him at multiple positions this season, utilizing him as both a scorer and playmaker, often giving him the most difficult defensive matchup. In describing Knueppel’s competitiveness, Lee recalled a recent card game at his house. In a friendly game, there was plenty of joking. Except from Knueppel, who was intently studying the table.

“That’s just like how he’s wired mentally,” says Lee. “And he brings that to the court every day, too. It’s no surprise that he’s able to impact winning in a lot of different ways.”

Then there is LaMelo Ball. This is Ball’s sixth season in Charlotte. He earned Rookie of the Year honors in his first season and was named to the All-Star team in his second. But he played 105 games over the next three seasons. Before this one, he was routinely named among the top candidates to be on the trading block.

But the Hornets stuck with him. And this season, they have been rewarded. Ball’s three-point percentage is up. His turnovers are down. His defense has been serviceable. To keep Ball healthy, Charlotte has closely monitored his minutes; he’s averaging a career-low 27.5 per game. The maturity in his game, Lee says, is easy to see.

“I think that the best thing that Melo has done this year to help himself and be a little bit more efficient is not get tied up in the stats,” says Lee. “Because our ultimate goal is for our whole team is maximizing everyone around him. He’s done that at a really high level. He’s trusted everyone around him. His shot profile has changed this year, because he is willing to trust the past and let Kon play pick-and-roll at times, Brandon play pick-and-roll, or Miles. Then he’s the beneficiary with more catch-and-shoot opportunities.

“I’m really proud with how he’s played the game, how he’s managed the game, how he continues to just try to make the right play. Then at times, because he’s played the right way, he’s seen a catch-and-shoot go in, he’s gotten a layup or a lob for somebody else. Now, he can get to the stepback threes, and then he’s knocking them down. At a pretty good clip, too.”

Charlotte won’t compete for a championship this season. Most likely, its season will end before May. It doesn’t matter. The Hornets have been good before. What they have not had, not for a while, at least, is this kind of foundation. Ball is 24. Miller is 23. Knueppel is 20. Moussa Diabaté, a former two-way player who has emerged as Charlotte’s starting center, is 24. Lee credits the work the young players put in last offseason for this season’s success. “Everyone elevated their work habits,” Lee says. This summer he expects more of the same.

“We have a goal in mind,” says Lee. “We have a vision of who we want to be, the identity that we’re still trying to create. Consistency is the word that a lot of our players have kind of thrown out there. And so no matter who’s in front of us, excuses got to go out the window. We have to focus on us.”

Goals. Consistency. Vision. Grandmama would be proud.

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