Hornets first-year head coach Charles Lee is feeling 'optimistic' as 2024-25 comes to a close

Charles Lee expresses hope ahead of first full offseason in Charlotte.

Matt Alquiza | Apr 15, 2025

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Charlotte Hornets

Charles Lee's first season as the head coach of the Charlotte Hornets wasn't always perfect. In fact, it was very rarely even good, let alone above average. His squad came storming out of the gates, winning two of their first four games and looking more than competent during their 5-7 start to the 2024-25 season before things fell apart.

Unfortunately for Lee and his Hornets, the injury bug nestled into their locker room and consistent contributors Grant Williams, LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, Tre Mann, and Mark Williams all missed time in the first two months of the season.

As the injuries piled up, so did the losses, and after falling in their penultimate game of the season, Charlotte sits at 19-62 with the league's third-worst record.

However, despite all of that, the ever-optimistic Lee has still found a way to look at his maiden head coaching campaign and what's to come through a pair of rose-colored glasses.

Lee: 'It's hard not to be optimistic'

Daily work. Daily growth. Daily gratitude.

Tap in to watch Episode 5 of Reel Access on YouTube: https://t.co/L67bcsM84r pic.twitter.com/JYTeaYvJ4v
— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) April 11, 2025

Here's Lee's full quote from the Hornets' latest episode of Reel Access: "It's hard not to be optimistic when I've already seen so much growth in year one. Between our young core getting to play more games together, I think after an offseason that's going to be so productive with these guys really diving into their nutrition, their weight room, I think bringing each other together during the offseason to kind of work out together, is going to help our whole team."

"And now that we have our staff in place there's going to be plans in place for these guys. I think that the player development we have laid out, the emphasis between court and between weight room is going to pay dividends. And so I look forward to these guys attacking every day with our staff and not having to worry about 'is Charles in a playoff battle right now? Or is he here boots on the ground?'"

A couple of things stuck out about Lee's words of wisdom.

The summer of 2025 will be the first time that Lee gets a full offseason program in Charlotte. Last year, he was assisting Celtics' head coach Joe Mazzulla on Boston's run to an NBA championship that lasted until June 17th. Once Charlotte's season officially ends on Sunday afternoon, it will be full steam ahead for Lee and his staff in the Queen City.

The second thing is Lee's emphasis on the team getting together this summer. An early highlight of Charles Lee's tenure with the Hornets was the coming together of Charlotte's veterans in support of the young players at Summer League in Las Vegas. A major tenet of 'Hornets DNA' is toegetherness, and Lee will assuredly be pushing that during the down months.

Again, Lee's first year was far from perfect, but his laying of the groundwork in a disappointing rookie campaign will be the bedrock that a successful team will sprout from.