Nets Get Their First Real Test After A Wild Summer

The Hornets and Nets gear up for a promising preseason following significant roster changes and draft picks aimed at breaking their respective playoff droughts.

The Hornets and Nets both put their preseason plans on the board Monday, and each team will get a quick four-game tune-up before the games start counting.

Charlotte opens at home against Brooklyn on Oct. 6 at 7 pm ET, then stays home for Milwaukee on Oct. 11 at 7 pm. The Hornets will head to Boston on Oct. 14 for a 7:30 pm ET tip before closing the preseason at Memphis on Oct. 16 at 8 pm ET.

Brooklyn’s schedule starts with that trip to Charlotte, then continues with a home game against Philadelphia on Oct. 8 at 7:30 pm ET. The Nets will also visit Washington on Oct. 12 at 7 pm ET and Miami on Oct. 14 at 7:30 pm ET.

Charlotte is coming off a 44-38 season that ended in the play-in tournament, where the Hornets fell in the final game for the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference. The franchise has now missed the playoffs in each of the last 10 seasons, the longest such streak in the NBA.

Brooklyn, meanwhile, finished 20-62 in 2025/26, which was the third-worst mark in the league. The Nets have been out of the postseason for the past three years.

Both teams have already been busy this summer, too. They were part of the six-team mega-deal that sent LaMelo Ball to Minnesota, Naz Reid to Charlotte, and Julius Randle to Brooklyn, among other pieces moving around. Charlotte also added first-round picks Hannes Steinbach at No. 14 and Christian Anderson Jr. at No. 18, while Brooklyn used the sixth pick on Mikel Brown Jr.

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