Do the Charlotte Hornets Really Have Four of the Top 100 Players in the NBA?

The Charlotte Hornets have, for a long time, not had a ton of talent. They had players here and there, but it's been a long time since the roster was as talented and deep as it is now. That's not to say that they're brimming with talent like few other teams, but this is a nice change of pace.

The front office has done a good job raising the talent floor of this roster, but it has also compiled some genuine top-end talent. The Ringer ranks the best 100 NBA players all year long and just updated their list.

It shows several Hornets in really good rankings, and it shows just how the Hornets were able to turn things around in such a seemingly quick fashion.

The Ringer ranks the best Hornets players

First up, and perhaps only slightly surprisingly, is Kon Knueppel. After 57 career games, Knueppel is already the 40th-best player in the NBA. It's not surprising why: he boasts a nearly unrivaled outside shot.

They wrote, "There's a serious degree of difficulty to these shots. He’s shooting 49 percent on pull-up 3s, which ranks first among all players with at least 90 attempts. First! Forty-nine percent! These numbers have no precedent, and defenses have no idea how to bring them down."

If you were keeping score at home, Cooper Flagg ranked 41st. So if The Ringer has any say, Knueppel would win the Rookie of the Year award.

LaMelo Ball's wonderful season, which boasts higher advanced metrics but a lower slash line of traditional metrics, ranks him 45th, which is up from earlier this season.

"The arrival of Kon Knueppel and the return of Brandon Miller have changed LaMelo’s job description: Charlotte doesn’t need him to drive the offense on his own (and please, LaMelo, don’t drive anything); it just needs him to make the pieces fit. And so far, he’s proved to be extremely well-suited to that role," they wrote.

Brandon Miller is ranked 58th this time. "Even against high-level NBA talent, Miller stands out for his silky-smooth release and his ability to heat up out of nowhere... That’s what Miller brings to Charlotte, which is quietly turning into one of the more formidable teams in the Eastern Conference," the synopsis read.

Miller has quietly become the go-to scorer in Charlotte thanks to his ability to score from anywhere. The Ringer pointed out that Ball makes the offense chaotic and hard to guard, while Knueppel connects everything with a knockdown jumper. Miller, though, "brings the rain that lets the Hornets chase teams out of the gym."

Chicago Bulls guard Coby White (0) arrives at United Center before an NBA game | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

That's not all, though. In the past, those three would've been the only Hornets within shouting distance of the NBA's Top 100. But after the trade deadline, that trio might've become a foursome with Coby White.

White has yet to debut for the Hornets (he will tonight), but he ranks 79th. "The most notable improvement White has made this year has been his aggression on drives and drawing fouls. That added element of rim pressure would be a boon to the Hornets' offense, which ranks in the bottom third of the league in free-throw attempt rate," his synopsis said.

White will fit right in with the Hornets and give them the chance to have four elite, top-100 players on the court at one time. While they're still not the most talented team in basketball, that is something few teams can boast.