Three Plays That Define Charles Lee and the Rise of the Charlotte Hornets' Top-Ten Offense

The Charlotte Hornets don't boast a top ten offense in the NBA by accident.

LaMelo Ball, Kon Knueppel, and Brandon Miller are the most talented trio the Hornets have employed since the 90s, and the man tasked with shepherding them is doing a masterful job. Charles Lee, the much maligned head coach of the Hornets, deserves more credit than the fanbase is willing to give him.

Lee is maximizing his three best offense players by running well-drilled sets that accentuate their strengths, and there is no better example of that than these three possessions in the first quarter of Monday afternoon's blowout win against the Sixers.

Possession One: A Knueppel Triple

The Hornets run a ton of zoom actions, and they go to one here.

Consisting of an off-ball screen (usually a pin down, but the Hornets run a specific set with a 'gut' screen that I detailed here) that flows into a dribble handoff (DHO), zoom actions are used to leverage a player's well-rounded skillset by freeing them up to make a quick decision while on the move.

When receiving the DHO, the ball handler can get downhill and drive, pass to a teammate that was left open by a rotating defense, or fly into a jumper if they're given space.

In the example below, Kon Knueppel chooses option number three: a pull-up jumper over the outstretched arms of Philadelphia's Quentin Grimes.

Charlotte cooked Philadelphia three variations of Zoom actions at the end of the first quarter.

On the first, Knueppel receives a down screen from Grant Williams before knocking down a three-pointer off a DHO from Kalkbrenner. pic.twitter.com/KSDbFHuCW5
— Matt Alquiza (@malquiza8) January 28, 2026

Knueppel's acumen as shooter makes this play happen. Grant Williams didn't make great contact with Grimes on the screen, but Kon's quick trigger got the shot off even with minimal separation from the defender.

After Knueppel knocked down one triple off this action, Philadelphia changed how they defended it.

Possession Two: A Kalkbrenner Hammer

Charlotte set up in a 'Horns' look with Williams and Kalkbrenner at each elbow, Knueppel spaced to the left corner, Sion James in the right corner, and Collin Sexton at the top of the key,

Sexton dumps the ball in to Kalkbrenner at the right elbow which triggers the action.

Different configuration, same idea.

Kalkbrenner gets the ball at the elbow and takes two dribbles to meet Kon at the top of the floor after Grant frees him with a crushing screen.

The Sixers won’t allow K2 to beat them from deep again, so Kon calmly hits the rolling big. pic.twitter.com/n3DsBrKih4
— Matt Alquiza (@malquiza8) January 28, 2026

Once Kalkbrenner takes his first dribble to the middle of the floor, Knueppel flies off a bone-crushing screen from Williams to receive the DHO from his center. Because Quentin Grimes got stymied by Williams' screen, Jabari Walker and Adem Bona are forced to navigate the Knueppel and Kalkbrenner handoff action.

The image of Knueppel draining a three-point look off this similar action just two possessions ago set off a five-alarm fire in the brains of the Philadelphia defenders as they both close out hard on the shooter.

Instead of forcing up a contested look, Knueppel calmly dumped the ball off to a rolling Kalkbrenner who stuffed it home for two. Notice the little interchange between Sexton and James that Maxey switched at the same time as the DHO, making the small guard the low man who weakly attempted to contest Kalkbrenner's hammer dunk.

It's the little things.

Possession Three: Point Grant

And the third.

Grant slips the initial down screen and Kalkbrenner keeps on the DHO that Grimes tried to jump, leaving him way out of the play.

Bona sinks into the paint, allowing Grant to receive the strong DHO from RK and basically play 2v1 against drop coverage. pic.twitter.com/0OekJORYdf
— Matt Alquiza (@malquiza8) January 28, 2026

Charlotte added a few wrinkles into this one.

Instead of setting the down screen for Knueppel, Williams slips it and cuts to the paint.

Again, because Knueppel laced a three-pointer off a DHO earlier in the quarter, Grimes attempts to keep the ball out of the red hot rookie's hands by shooting the gap. Kalkbrenner wisely holds onto the ball like Aaron Rodgers running a play fake, allowing him and Grant Williams to go to work.

Because Grimes took himself out of the play, Kalkbrenner's man, Adem Bona, had to sink into the paint to stave off a cutting Knueppel, leaving Jabari Walker to fend for himself in the handoff action between Williams and Kalkbrenner.

Kalkbrenner, as he is wont to do, catches Walker on the DHO, allowing Williams free access into the paint to knock down a floater over Bona who has to account for Kalkbrenner as a roller.

Charles Lee has implemented a deep, layered, and versatile playbook in Charlotte. The tactical advantages he affords the Hornets get lost in the game-to-game results, but don't be mistaken: Lee can draw up a play with the best coaches in basketball, and the Hornets are benefitting from their coach's skills.

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