The Hornets aren't winning the NBA Finals, but insider's criticism is harsh

No, the Charlotte Hornets are not winning the Finals this season. There have been just 16 teams that missed the playoffs one year and then even made it to the final round the next, and those teams weren't really as bad as the 2024-25 Hornets.

There's virtually no chance at all. Nothing is impossible, but this is. The Detroit Pistons went from the top of the lottery to the sixth seed in the weak East, and that was monumental. So in that sense, it was easy for Bleacher Report insider Dan Favale to detail why the Hornets, among every other team, won't win it all. But the explanation for why is just painful.

"Inviting the Charlotte Hornets to the postseason, let alone the NBA Finals, would just be awkward for everyone. They haven't been to the playoffs in a decade," he reminded everyone. "There are fifth graders in North Carolina who haven't been alive long enough to experience the thrill of their favorite basketball team's season extending all the way to April 29. The horror."

It all comes down to LaMelo Ball's health, Favale argued, but that hasn't really been present so far. "Surrounding LaMelo with a crap ton of shooting is a legitimate recipe for offensive success. Bankrolling a center rotation shallow enough to make the New Orleans Pelicans balk is not," he continued.

Favale argued that Charles Lee would deserve a statue if he could coerce a top-20 defense out of this unit with Sion James, Brandon Miller's defense from his rookie season, and Josh Green being the heavy lifters there.

"If wins were measured by Eric Collins' ability to hype us up after made free throws that touch multiple parts of the rim, Charlotte would be a contender. They aren't. So, it's not," Favale said. The ultimate moral of the story is that Charlotte hasn't even sniffed the playoffs in a decade, so there's no reason to think any sort of success is coming immediately.

It's a painful reminder of how long it's been since the Hornets have been remotely relevant, and it's a painful reminder of how far they still have to go. This offseason was a step in the right direction, but it's not nearly enough to expect anything in 2025-26.

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