What Will Define a Successful 2026-27 Season for the Charlotte Hornets?

Expectations are all over the place for the Charlotte Hornets in 2026-27. Despite trading LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges, much of the national media believes the Hornets are in a better, or just as good, place. Locally, everyone sees the organization taking a major step backward.

What exactly will define a successful season for Charlotte? Here's what our staff has to say.

Schuyler Callihan: Playing meaningful basketball late in the season

This is a rather broad _, but by retooling the roster, the Hornets essentially admitted they aren't quite ready to make a push in the East. That being said, they didn't fully tear it down, so they still have a young core to build around and have surrounded it with several guys who have experienced winning basketball. The last thing you want to have happen is to get to March and be well out of contention or be significantly worse than where they were this past season. This group needs to learn how to win together, and if they can fight their way through the Play-In and into the first round, that will have exceeded just about everyone's expectations. Obviously, it is important that certain individuals advance their game, such as Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel, but overall, you're looking to stay competitive from start to finish.

Zach Roberts: Growth from key players

We all know the Hornets took a step back, themselves included. This was intentional. So for this season to be a success, we need to see growth from key players moving forward. Brandon Miller needs to look like a franchise face. Kon Knueppel needs to look like he can thrive without elite playmaking setting him up. Hannes Steinbach needs to evolve into a good NBA player. Christian Anderson Jr. needs to look like an NBA-level contributor at some point. Liam McNeeley and Tidjane Salaün need to avoid the G League. The list goes on. If they're a part of the figure, they need to truly, unequivocally look the part.

Evan Campos: Internal development and a healthy season

It has to start with Charlotte's best young players continuing to move in the right direction. Players like Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel, Hannes Steinbach, and Moussa Diabaté ascending as players would be a meaningful part of a successful season. From there, the roster has to make sense on the court, of course, which it should offensively, especially with what projects to be a dynamic, shooting-heavy starting five and a solid bench with Dennis Schröder now in the mix. Finishing around the top 10 in offensive efficiency again while remaining a top-three to top-five team in three-point rate and percentage would be an ideal outcome and should lead to plenty of wins.

Defensively, given Charlotte's personnel, finishing around league average or slightly above it in terms of defensive rating, efficiency, and the eye test would be a win. Most importantly, in my mind, having a healthy roster for the majority of the season is what any NBA front office would consider a success. Being able to properly evaluate what you have and what you still need would make this season a productive one for the Hornets.

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