The Energy Has Shifted on the Hornets' 2026 Season... Where Have I Seen This Before?

As it typically does, the snow builds up in Massachusetts in early January. Although my winter break at school had ended a few days prior, we were off as the snow had piled up to make it unsafe to drive or take the train to the high school I attended in Boston.

The Boston Celtics were in the midst of another disappointing season after making the Eastern Conference Finals just a year and a half prior. They had a new coach for the first time in years, but the team could never put together wins with consistent injuries.

Entering a Thursday night game against the New York Knicks, the Celtics were 18-20, losers of four of their last six. The game was tied at 105, with 1.5 seconds on the clock. They inbounded the ball to RJ Barrett, who took a fadeaway, falling away three, which banked in at the buzzer.

The Celtics fell to 18-21, and I stared at my television for 15 minutes in complete silence.

What happened for the remainder of the season was unprecedented. The Celtics finished the season 33-10, beating teams by so many points that Jayson Tatum likely missed out on several 40-50 point games due to being pulled in the third quarter. They went on to fall to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, but since that shot, the Boston Celtics went from looking like a team in the NBA's purgatory to an NBA Champion and consistent Finals contender.

Four years later, I'm watching the same thing happen again, this time in a new city, with a new organization, and (almost) completely new faces.

With injuries piling up and questions about the head coach, the Charlotte Hornets started their 2025-26 season after ten years of disappointment with, well, disappointment. They started the season 4-14, and eventually fell to 13-25.

It seemed that the Hornets were destined for another year in lottery contention, with enticing names like AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cam Boozer, and Caleb Wilson at the top of the draft.

After back-to-back disappointing losses at home to the Toronto Raptors and Indiana Pacers, the Hornets sat 13-25 just two games after beating the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder by 27. It was time for a West Coast trip, where Grant Williams would return to play in his first game since November 2024.

In his first game back, the Hornets beat the Utah Jazz by 55 points. They ended up going 3-2 on the road trip, returning home and falling to the Cleveland Cavaliers on ESPN.

Then, as if by magic, something switched. When the energy shifted on the 2022 Celtics, they won nine straight games from late January to early February, eventually losing to the Detroit Pistons at home. In an eerily similar fashion, the Hornets won nine straight games from late January to early February, eventually losing to the Detroit Pistons at home.

During that Pistons game, the Hornets lost Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabate to suspension, and lost two straight games to the Houston Rockets and Cleveland Cavaliers. The two returned, and alongside trade deadline addition Coby White, the Hornets managed to rattle off another six straight, each being 15-point wins.

Best of all, they took down the two-seed Boston Celtics in their arena by 29 points to be over .500 for the first time since October 26.

Since January 1, the Hornets are tied with Boston (21) for the most wins, hold the league's best net rating at +12.0, the best offensive rating at 122.0, the fifth-best defensive rating at 110.0, and the best three-point percentage by a team at 39.3%.

Not just that, but their starting five of LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel, Miles Bridges, and Moussa Diabate are now 20-2 when they play together. In their 281 minutes together this season, they have a +27.9 net rating, a 138.1 offensive rating, a 110.1 defensive rating, are shooting 45.8% from three while holding their opponents to 32.6%, and are holding their opponents to just 53.4% true shooting.

Just like the Celtics in 2022, where a starting five of Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, and Robert Williams had a +24.3 net rating across 443 minutes with the Celtics, however, their historic defense had a 97.0 defensive rating, holding teams to 48.2% true shooting.

And just like Ime Udoka was able to do, Charles Lee has gotten every player to buy in and accept the role that he has carved out for them.

Josh Green is playing a smaller role than he has in previous years, and has given the Hornets excellent defense while shooting nearly 45% from three.

Pat Connaughton, who was a key role player during the Milwaukee Bucks' 2021 championship, was salary-dumped in the offseason to Charlotte and has found a role to thrive in.

Grant Williams, who was a key part of that 2022 Celtics team, has been key to the Hornets' defense since returning from injury, and his three-point shooting has stepped up lately.

Even the stars of the team, like LaMelo Ball, are playing smaller roles that allow them to continue their playstyle while also being one of the most impactful offensive players in the sport.

Rookie Kon Knueppel has smashed the rookie three-point record and is a serious contender for the NBA's Rookie of the Year.

After a slow, injury-riddled start for Brandon Miller, his third-year breakout has begun, and over his last 20 games, he is averaging 22.9 points per game, while shooting 40.5% from deep.

Just like Robert Williams, the Hornets found their own young, athletic, ascending center in Moussa Diabate. Moussa has had the impact stats of a top-40 player in basketball, and his rebounding, defense, and refined offensive game have only grown this year, making him one of the best starting centers in basketball.

The feeling of watching a team go from the bottom of the league to consistent, dominant wins in a single season was something I believed I would never see again after 2022. In a new city, with new faces, and a new organization, that magic is happening all over again.

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