What's on the Charlotte Hornets' 2025 Christmas wish list?

It's hard to believe, but Christmas is just nine days out. We still have time to put together our annual Hornets Christmas wish list, so let's knock this out and send it to Santa before this season spirals out of control.

No. 1: A healthy roster

Santa, I'm sure you've got some magical dust that you can sprinkle throughout Spectrum Center that can somehow heal the Hornets' injured players. As you've probably noticed, the Bugs have been dealing with injuries for several years now, and in order for President of Basketball Ops Jeff Peterson to accurately evaluate this roster, he needs this group, particularly its core, to be on the floor together. I feel like this is at the top of the list every year, so maybe this year it comes true?

No. 2: Improved defense

Charles Lee has a strong history of developing a team's defense, but in his one year and change, the Hornets are still hanging around the bottom of the league in several categories, including a 25th ranking in defensive efficiency at 115.7. Because of the injuries, the Hornets aren't really constructed to outscore teams on a nightly basis. However, they do have guys who can be special two-way players if they just take more pride in that area of the game. Seeing opposing teams hit 49% of their field goal attempts isn't a fun thing to watch.

No. 3: Growth for Tidjane Salaun

While Salaun may not be a key piece of the Hornets' core, he can't be a complete bust. Yes, he's still incredibly young, but there are still too many moments where he doesn't look like he belongs on an NBA floor. The Hornets have had a number of busts over the years, so how about helping this youngster out? If he can eventually work his way into a sixth-man type of role where he brings energy on the defensive end of the floor and can knock down shots consistently from the perimeter, that'll do.

No. 4: Lottery luck

This is more of me predicting the future, but I'm going to throw it out there anyway. Assuming the top thing on the list doesn't happen, the Hornets will be picking in the lottery for the 10th straight year. In that time, Charlotte missed out on a generational talent in Victor Wembanyama, missed out on Cooper Flagg (although Kon Knueppel appears to be a satisfactory consolation), and fell two spots shy of landing Anthony Edwards in 2020. The Charlotte Hornets fans are starving for a winner, and landing the No. 1 pick would go a long way in turning this franchise around.

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