Predicting the Charlotte Hornets' Record in 2026-27 With Current Roster

The Charlotte Hornets have revamped their roster in a lot of ways. The positives: they have a ridiculous amount of three-point shooting. The negatives: the Hornets are lacking shot creation.

Swapping out LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges for proven three-point shooters like Naz Reid, Grayson Allen, and Royce O'Neale does add shooting to a team that shot the lights out of the three last year, but it also removes playmaking.

The Hornets had the best five-man lineup in the NBA last season, but only 60% of that unit is still on the roster. It's the bet the Hornets' front office chose to make, but how will it play out on the floor?

The Hornets went 44-38 after surviving an injury-marred 16-27 start to the season. For those counting at home, that's an absurd 28-11 finish to the season once they got healthy and sorted.

Charlotte Hornets center Ryan Kalkbrenner (11) passes the ball to guard/forward Kon Knueppel | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

How will they do next year? There are a lot of factors. As mentioned, the high-level shot creation is missing. Who will set up all these three-point shooters with good, open looks? Christian Anderson? That's a lot for a rookie to handle.

On the flip side, the defense is probably a little bit better, and of course, there's just a ridiculous glut of shooting. Shot creation for those shooters will be key, but pretty much everyone on the floor will be able to make shots from distance.

In a sense, this should all even out to a roughly similar team record. The Hornets, barring injuries, will not get off to an ugly start like they did last year. They won't be as scorching hot as they finished, either. The offense will be worse, but the defense might be a little better.

There are reasons to think this team can be better than its predecessor, and there are reasons to think that it will be worse. I tend to believe it will be worse because LaMelo Ball drove most of the offense and set up Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller with great looks.

Those shots will be harder to come by, but there won't be as much pressure on those two with so much alternative shooting. The schedule hasn't been revealed, but most NBA teams play a similar schedule, so it's not like the Hornets can really get robbed by being forced to play a tough slate (see: the Panthers' 2026 schedule).

So, all in all, this team should finish around .500. I believe 42-40 is a fair prediction. That might not sound bad, but when you extrapolate the record that the Ball, Knueppel, Miller, Bridges, and Moussa Diabaté starting five led them to last year, it's extremely disappointing.

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