Apparently, the Charlotte Hornets are just about ready for primetime.
That’s one of the main takeaways from the Hornets’ full 2025-26 regular-season schedule released on Wednesday, a little over 24 hours following the details of this year’s Emirates NBA Cup matchups being unveiled.
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After going largely ignored on the national television scene for the better part of the past decade, the Hornets are scheduled to appear on all three of the NBA’s top broadcast partners this season. Charlotte has a date in Cleveland against the Cavaliers on Dec. 22 that will be shown on Peacock, NBC’s streaming service. That will break a nearly five-year drought, with the Hornets’ last true national television appearance coming during their play-in tournament loss in Atlanta in 2022.
Hornet’s new players hold up jerseys during a press conference introducing them in Charlotte, N.C., on Friday, June 27, 2025.
The Hornets gets to bask in the spotlight against Cleveland again a month later when they meet the Cavaliers on Jan. 21 on ESPN. A matchup with the San Antonio Spurs in uptown on Amazon Prime also awaits on Jan. 31.
It’s all a change from the recent norm. During the previous two seasons alone, whenever the Hornets did have a game initially scheduled to be shown to a national audience, it got yanked due to various factors, typically due to Charlotte’s record and unavailability of key players. A season ago, their lone scheduled appearance was nixed, similar to 2023-24 when the Hornets had one game slated to be on ESPN but the network pulled the plug.
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But things may be different this season following the team’s run to the Las Vegas Summer League championship, and that excitement should only build when some of the NBA’s marquee names come to a renovated Spectrum Center, which will host the Hornets’ regular-season opener against the Brooklyn Nets on Oct. 22.
LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers make their only visit on Nov. 10, and the reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder arrive on Nov. 15.
The hottest ticket as usual should be when Steph Curry, the pride of Charlotte and assistant general manager at Davidson, and the Golden State Warriors are here for a matinee on New Year’s Eve.
Golden State Warriors and former Davidson Wildcats star Steph Curry, center, poses for a photograph with Cathy and Bob McKillop courtside at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC on Monday, March 3, 2025.
Charlotte’s slate also includes two games — one home, one away — between Dec. 9-16 versus yet to be determined opponents that will be announced once group play has been completed in the league’s annual in-season tournament.
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The Hornets’ local television schedule on FanDuel Sports Southeast is expected to be announced at a later date, and there’s no word yet if any games will be broadcast over the air. During last season, the Hornets partnered with Cox Media Group’s WSOC-TV Channel 9, its sister station TV 64 and FanDuel to simulcast five games.
That marked the first time the franchise broadcast its games free over-the-air in nearly two decades, dating back when the team was still called the Bobcats, and Hornets’ fans who’ve complained about not being able to watch live action for various reasons were extremely pleased.
Charlotte Hornets 2025-26 composite schedule
BY THE NUMBERS*
Longest homestand: 7 (March 17-29 vs. Miami, Orlando, Memphis, Sacramento, New York, Philadelphia, Boston)
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Longest road trip: 5 (Jan. 10-18 at Utah, at LA Clippers, at Los Angeles, at Golden State, at Denver)
Most games in a month: 17 (January)
Road/home back-to-backs: 5
Home/home back-to-backs: 6
Road/road back-to-backs: 5
Consecutive games vs. same opponent: 0
Scheduled national TV appearances (excluding NBATV): 3 (at Cleveland on Dec. 22 (Peacock); vs. Cleveland (ESPN) on Jan. 21; vs. San Antonio (Amazon Prime) on Jan. 31)
* — (Totals reflect 80 games since two games remain TBD due to NBA’s in-season tournament)