April 12, 2026 (Charlotte Hornets) – The No. 9 seed Charlotte Hornets will host the No. 10 seed Miami Heat on Tuesday, April 14 at Spectrum Center at 7:30 p.m. in the first stage of the Eastern Conference SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament. Tickets for Tuesday’s Play-In Tournament Game are available at hornets.com and via the Hornets app. The game will be broadcast on Amazon Prime and the Hornets flagship radio station, WFNZ (92.7 FM). The Hornets postseason play is presented by Judi Health, the team’s Official Jersey Patch Partner.

The Hornets clinched the No. 9 seed with tonight’s 110-96 win at New York, finishing the season with a 44-38 record, their largest single-season win total since 2015-16 and a 25-win increase from last season’s 19-63 finish, the largest season-to-season win increase in franchise history. The winner of the No. 9/No. 10 matchup between Charlotte and Miami will face the loser of the No. 7/No. 8 matchup between Philadelphia and Orlando on the road in the final stage of the SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament to determine the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. The final stage will take place on Friday, April 17.

Despite a 4-14 start, Charlotte has rallied to a 44-38 season. The Hornets led NBA in offensive rating since Jan. 1 and finished with a top 10 net rating on the season. The duo of Rookie of the Year candidate Kon Knueppel and All-NBA candidate LaMelo Ball finished the season ranking 1st and 2nd, respectively, in total 3-pointers made, becoming the second pair of teammates in NBA history to do so. Brandon Miller led the team in scoring, Moussa Diabate ranked 3rd in the league in total offensive rebounds and second-round draft pick Sion James became the 6th rookie in Hornets history to play in all 82 games.

Charlotte will play its first postseason game at Spectrum Center since 2016. On Friday, the Hornets unveiled Protect the Hive as the team’s official campaign for the 2025-26 postseason. The Hornets finished the season with a Spectrum Center single-season record of 25 sellouts, including 15 straight to end the season, the longest sellout streak in building history.

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