Charlotte Hornets get rare praise from one NBA insider routinely critical of team

The Charlotte Hornets may not look all that imposing at 16-27, but upon further inspection, they look a little better than their record.

For starters, they've averaged better than a 20-point margin of victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers, and Denver Nuggets. All of those wins came on the road.

Secondly, though it's minimal, this is a two-win improvement from the record through 43 games last year. And on paper and through the eye test, they are better and seemingly getting better as the season goes on.

It all bodes well. Maybe not for this year, but the future is suddenly a whole lot brighter than it was. For perfect evidence of that, look no further than The Hoop Collective.

Brian Windhorst, Tim Bontemps, and Tim McMahon have routinely been critical of Charlotte, but this time, Windhorst had nothing but good things to say.

🎙️ @WindhorstESPN: "The Charlotte Hornets are putting something together here. They've been very patient this rebuild, but I think of what you'd say about the Hornets, if you go look at their moves for the last 18 months, two years... they just keep stacking smart moves." pic.twitter.com/qdDA79FRj6
— r/CharlotteHornets (@HornetsReddit) January 19, 2026

Windhorst said they didn't play well with Brandon Miller missing so much time early on. That's true, they were 3-14 with Miller on the bench. But when they're healthy and playing together, Windhorst and McMahon admitted they "have some juice."

McMahon even admitted he's now "lukewarm" on LaMelo Ball, which is unbelievable praise given how negative McMahon has been throughout Ball's career.

"The Hornets are putting something together here. They've been very patient this rebuild, but I think of what you'd say about the Hornets, if you go look at their moves for the last 18 months, two years... they just keep stacking smart moves," Windhorst said.

Windhorst added that the Golden State Warriors, winners of 11 out of 15, beating the Hornets is a "nice win," which is high praise. It used to be a foregone conclusion that a playoff-level team would beat the Hornets, but that's not the case any longer.

🎙️ @WindhorstESPN: "I would pick the Hornets in a series against the Lakers."

Full episode of The Hoop Collective: https://t.co/5jqSA7glYw pic.twitter.com/U1CLyad63C
— r/CharlotteHornets (@HornetsReddit) January 19, 2026

To top it all off, the ESPN insider even said that the Hornets would beat the Lakers in a seven-game series in the postseason. Bontemps pointed out that Charlotte is +0.2 net rating on the year, and the Lakers, pegged as a contender in the West, are -1.2.

Put simply, these are not the same old Hornets, and kudos to these three for recognizing that and giving some credit.

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