Way-too-early record predictions for the Charlotte Hornets for the 2025-26 season

The NBA released the schedule for the 2025-26 season on Thursday, and while there's still plenty of time for teams to tweak their respective rosters, our staff has some way-too-early record predictions for the Charlotte Hornets. We'll revisit this and make our final predictions just before the start of the season.

Schuyler Callihan: 31-51

We've all talked at length about the promise of the Hornets' young core, but the reality is, we still have no idea what their ceiling is together. Injuries have obviously played a major role in that, but also, it's a new core they're building around with Mark Williams out and Kon Knueppel in. Charlotte's center depth is a massive concern, and even if Ryan Kalkbrenner plays better than expected, the Hornets are going to have many long nights in the paint. I would be a little more optimistic if it weren't for the inevitable injury issues. Still, a step in the right direction, though.

Ryan Stano: 38-44

The late part of the schedule is brutal, and there's a good chance Ball will be hurt by the time March rolls around again. That still might be good enough for the play-in, with the East being so bad.

Zach Roberts: 36-46

The Hornets are improved enough to expect a lot more winning than last year, even if they deal with some inevitable injuries. The back end of the schedule is tough, so don’t be surprised if they fade to close the season and potentially miss out on the play-in.

Colin Keane: 30-52

Still the most wins since 2021-22. I think this group is still (sadly) one year away from getting into the mid-30s of wins. Charles Lee will maximize this roster, and they will play very hard, but all of this young talent (2025 draft class added to a young core) needs time to mesh.

There will be growing pains as the hierarchy is established. Sometimes, a ton of young talent at the same position(s) hurts a team. This happened with the Boston Celtics during the Kyrie-Hayward era ... the team was loaded, but guys like Rozier, Tatum, and Brown weren't willing to take a backseat for the sake of winning, because guys are trying to get paid. This team doesn't have the high-end, prime-aged talent of that Celtics squad, but there might be some similar issues with sharing the basketball on a team with a ton of young guys who are still proving themselves. If Lee can manage that and this team plays together, he's really special.

If the East wasn't so weak this year, I'd even be in the 27-29 range with this prediction. Again, 30 wins still represents an improvement and forward movement for the franchise. They will be extremely fun to watch, and I actually think they will be competitive in almost every game.

Albert Bottcher: 40-42

In last year's East, I would have predicted this team to win 30 games at most. But looking at how weak the competition is this season, getting to 40 seems possible, although not easy. It's going to take better injury luck, somebody stepping up at the center position, and consistently good performances against the likes of Washington, Brooklyn, Chicago, and Toronto. Even when healthy, the Hornets failed to show up against supposedly weaker competition again and again last year. That's going to have to change if the team wants to take the next step in its rebuilding process.

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