Charlotte Hornets season ends in the right direction\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\nCoby White drives to the basket in the Charlotte Hornets’ 121-90 loss to the Orlando Magic April 17, 2026, in the NBA play-in round in Orlando, Florida. Charlotte finished the regular season 44-38, their best record since a 43-39 mark in 2021-22.
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The Hornets\u2019 best season in 10 years has ended abruptly.<\/p>\n
After winning their first play-in game in dramatic fashion against the Miami Heat, Charlotte couldn\u2019t match the physicality of the Orlando Magic in a lopsided 121-90 result that ended their hopes of making the playoffs for the first time since 2016.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Charlotte finished with a 44-38 record after starting the season 4-14. They picked up the pace in January when the Hornets went on a nine-game win streak from Jan. 22-Feb 7.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first thing that comes to mind is that progress was made,\u201d Hornets coach Charles Lee said. \u201cThe standards and the commitment level to trying to compete and trying to be together rose significantly. I think the players, in the offseason, set out to train a lot harder, be together a lot more and they had a mission coming into the season that they wanted to win more games.\u201d<\/p>\n
Charlotte lost just 10 games after Jan. 22 and created a real buzz over the latter part of the season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey earned a lot more respect and started to change the narrative around this Charlotte Hornets basketball team,\u201d Lee said. \u201cSo, I am super proud of everything that [the players] gave and them allowing us to coach them the way that we did. \u2026 [I am] super appreciative of the whole staff for banding together throughout the year and just trying to be problem-solvers.\u201d<\/p>\n
It helped to have LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller healthy in 2025-26, with Miller playing 65 games a Ball 72 \u2014 the second most games he has played in a season since entering the league.\u00a0
\u201cJust staying in the weight room, treatment, just doing the whole nine,\u201d Ball said, adding another key to the season was establishing a team identity.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it was really important just finding [our] identity and figuring out what we were going to be about,\u201d Ball said. \u201cI feel like that helped. It was really fun. [We have] a great group of guys. I love them all but anytime I am playing basketball and doing what I love, it\u2019s a blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lee said Ball helped elevate Charlotte, but heading into the offseason the plan is to challenge him to take it a step further.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has to do it again this offseason and elevate everything that he did,\u201d Lee said. \u201cEverything he did was great. He played 72 games, a ton in a row. \u2026 Defensively the level he played at consistently was much improved. Offensively we saw a ton of big moments from him. I think the next step for him is being able to handle physicality. I think that is just a global theme for our team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kon Knueppel was one of the NBA\u2019s best rookies this year and is one of the top candidates for rookie of the year award alongside former Duke teammate Cooper Flagg. Knueppel finished the year averaging 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game while shooting 47.5% from the floor and 42.5% from three-point range. The fourth overall pick in the 2025 draft proved to be the right fit for the Hornets.<\/p>\n
Charlotte now has a real expectation to capitalize on the season\u2019s success. Lee knows the expectations exist but wants to focus internally. If the Hornets do that, the wins will come.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe expectations that matter around the team are internal,\u201d he said. \u201cThose are the ones that the players talk about; the ones the front office and staff align on. That will be our biggest focus, not the outside expectations. But part of what we have to be realizing now is that every game you go play\u2026 it won\u2019t be a surprise next year. So, you are going to get everybody’s best effort every night. The league is continuing to get better, so we have to be ready to combat that as well.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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