Charles Barkley Makes Bold Declaration on 2025-26 Charlotte Hornets

If you haven't been paying attention, you might be fooled by the Charlotte Hornets' 18-28 record. That doesn't strike fear into anyone, and it's not even enough to get into the Play-In Tournament in the Eastern Conference.

If you look closer, though, you'll see they have a positive point differential. They're 0.5 points positive this year. That is good enough for eighth in the East. It would also be eighth in the West, so it's not like the Hornets are taking advantage of a bad conference.

They're 7-6 since January 1. They're 12-14 since December 1. Neither is world-beating, but that shows a level of competence we haven't seen in Charlotte in some time. Provided this trend continues, the Play-In would not be surprising.

But if you ask Charles Barkley, there is no "if" about it. After slandering Hornets fans, he has now worked back into the good graces of fans by guaranteeing this team will be playing postseason basketball.

🗣️ Charles Barkley: "The Hornets are gonna be in the play-in... GUARANTEED!" pic.twitter.com/RzYiYFGDK9
— r/CharlotteHornets (@HornetsReddit) January 25, 2026

Barkley said, "The Hornets are going to make the playoffs. They're gonna make the Play-In! Write it down on your little paper. The Hornets are making the Play-In. Guaranteed!"

The former NBA MVP was resolute in his take, and it's not all that far-fetched. Right now, Charlotte is 12th in the East, 3.5 games back from the 10th spot. They're playing good enough basketball to think they absolutely can sneak into that spot.

The Hawks have a negative point differential as the 10th seed, and they traded Trae Young, so the ceiling is sort of capped for them. In between Charlotte and Atlanta are the Milwaukee Bucks, but Giannis Antetokounmpo is out for four to six weeks.

By then, Charlotte will likely have blown past them and they could be challenging the Hawks, Chicago Bulls, and maybe even the Orlando Magic for a firm spot in the Play-In Tournament.

They still face an uphill battle getting to the postseason, but they're now one win shy of matching last year's total and it's January. That is impressive, and the arrow is firmly pointing up. They've even got national analysts guaranteeing good things to come, which has almost never been the case.

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