All Hornets

Hornets fans react to not landing the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft

More disappointment for the Charlotte Hornets' fanbase.
Schuyler Callihan|
Mar 11, 2022; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; A fan watches the game between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Charlotte Hornets during the first quarter at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Wevers-Imagn Images
Mar 11, 2022; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; A fan watches the game between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Charlotte Hornets during the first quarter at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Wevers-Imagn Images | Andrew Wevers-Imagn Images

In this story:

Charlotte Hornets

Letdown.

It's an annual occurrence for Charlotte Hornets fans.

The season, draft lottery, the draft itself, free agency, etc. In just about every facet of the game, Hornets fans are often left wondering what they did to the basketball gods to be dealt the pain they suffer yearly.

I have to give the fans credit, though. Every year, they do their best to be optimistic, thinking this season or draft lottery is going to be the year the fortune swings in their favor, only to experience the same excruciating result.

When the Washington Wizards and Utah Jazz were announced as the sixth and fifth overall picks in last night's lottery, the Hornets had the highest odds of the four teams remaining to land the top pick. Instead, they were the next team announced, picking fourth.

For a moment, Hornets fans let that feeling of hope creep in once again. When Mark Tatum said, "The fourth pick of the 2025 NBA draft goes to...the Charlotte Hornets," the all-too-familiar disappointing feeling spread throughout the fanbase.

You can hear the pain in the fans' reaction to landing the fourth pick at the team's lottery party at Legion Brewing.

Will the Hornets ever see the ping-pong balls bounce in their favor? Will their young core ever stay healthy? At some point, this thing has to swing in the other direction, right?

- MORE STORIES FROM HORNETS ON SI -

Could the Hornets trade back after the NBA draft lottery results?

Nick Smith Jr.'s future with the Hornets could be impacted by the NBA Draft

Identifying the Hornets' winners + losers from the NBA Draft lottery

Here's how to fix the NBA Draft Lottery so teams like the Hornets, Jazz don't get disadvantaged

Published
Schuyler Callihan
SCHUYLER CALLIHAN

Schuyler Callihan is the publisher of West Virginia On SI and has been a trusted source covering the Mountaineers since 2016. He is the host of Between The Eers, The Walk Thru Game Day Show, and In the Gun Podcast. The Wheeling, WV native moved to Charlotte, North Carolina in 2020 to cover the Charlotte Hornets and Carolina Panthers.

Home/Draft