Hornets Owners Thrilled with Recent Success, Believe They Are 'Ahead of Plan'

From the moment Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin purchased the Charlotte Hornets, they made it very clear that they wanted to turn this into the premier franchise in the NBA. Early on in their tenure as owners, they've witnessed an incredible amount of bad injury luck, resulting in bad basketball.

Finally, the Hornets are healthy, and we're seeing how good this core can be, which has since added a dynamic rookie in Kon Knueppel. The Bugs won nine straight before seeing their winning streak snapped against Detroit on Monday night, falling just one win shy of the franchise record. Despite being down two starters to suspension — Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabaté — the Hornets got back in the win column on Wednesday, taking down the Atlanta Hawks, giving them ten wins in their last eleven games entering the All-Star break.

Ahead of the team's matchup versus Atlanta, sideline reporter Shannon Spake caught up with the two majority owners to get their thoughts on the team's progress and where things appear to be headed.

🗣️ Rick Schnall: "We're in a great place. We're ahead of plan, we're winning games... our culture is moving in the right direction. We've got really good young players... we're exactly where we want to be."@ShannonSpake spoke with the Charlotte Hornets co-owners before tipoff: pic.twitter.com/JARpSvRTuo
— r/CharlotteHornets (@HornetsReddit) February 12, 2026

Gabe Plotkin

“For me, it’s just the continuous improvement of this group. I think when you go back to December, there were a lot of signs under the surface of what was happening here. You started to see the really improved offense, and then you started to see our defense really kick in. Everything that Charles (Lee) talks about and what our staff is doing, some of the development of our players, and then Josh (Green) came back, and Grant (Williams) came back, and we got healthy. It’s been exciting to see. We’ve always said the last couple of years, what does this group look like when they’re all together? It’s been exciting to see and to be in the environment we were in Monday night, that kind of playoff environment. That’s what we want to happen in this building.”

Rick Schnall

“We’re in a great place. Obviously, we’re ahead of plan. We’re winning games. The other night (vs. Detroit) was a tough one for us in a bunch of respects, but our culture is moving in the right direction. We’ve got really good, young players, so we’re excited. We’ll get to the All-Star game, and we’ll see where we go from there. We’re exactly where we want to be.”

The Hornets will have a couple of tough contests out of the All-Star break against Houston and Cleveland, during which they will also be shorthanded. Bridges and Diabaté are not able to play until February 24th against the Chicago Bulls. If they can manage to win one or two of those games without them, they'll remain right in the thick of things as we head down the stretch.

- MORE STORIES FROM CHARLOTTE HORNETS ON SI -

How to Watch Kon Knueppel in the 2026 NBA Rising Stars Challenge

Former NBA Guard Can't Wait to Embarrass Hornets Owner in Celebrity All-Star Game

Grading Charles Lee at the Mid-Season(ish) Point: How has the Charlotte Hornets' Head Coach Performed?

3 Biggest Questions Facing the Charlotte Hornets at the All-Star Break