After a tough seven-point home loss to the Cavaliers on Wednesday, the Charlotte Hornets didn’t just bounce back-they roared. Less than 24 hours later, they went down to Orlando and dismantled the Magic by 27 points, showing the kind of resilience and fire that’s starting to define this young team.
Now sitting at 17-28, the Hornets are just 1.5 games back of the 11th seed in the Eastern Conference-a spot currently held by the Milwaukee Bucks. And while that record might not jump off the page, context matters: Charlotte won just 19 games all of last season. With 37 games still left on the schedule, they’re already knocking on the door of that mark, and doing so with a level of confidence and cohesion we haven’t seen from this franchise in a while.
One stat that jumps out? Charlotte is now 7-3 on the second night of back-to-backs this season. That’s not just a fluke-that’s a team that shows up, even when the legs are heavy.
A big part of the turnaround has been the impact of their rookie class. Kon Knueppel, Sion James, and Ryan Kalkbrenner have all brought something different to the table, and under first-year head coach Charles Lee, they’ve fit seamlessly into a system that’s starting to click. Lee’s fingerprints are all over this team’s identity: tough, unselfish, and committed on both ends of the floor.
Over their last 15 games, Charlotte has quietly become one of the most efficient offensive teams in the league. They lead the NBA in offensive rating, three-point percentage, and second-chance points over that stretch.
That’s not a typo. They’re also second in rebound percentage and fourth in net rating.
Those are elite-level metrics-numbers you usually associate with top-tier playoff teams, not 12 seeds.
And that’s what makes this run so intriguing. For most of the year, the Hornets have been battling the injury bug, with key players like LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, Grant Williams, and Josh Green missing significant time. But now that the rotation is starting to stabilize, we’re seeing what this group can do when it’s healthy-and it’s impressive.
The Hornets are still four games back of the Atlanta Hawks for the 10th seed and a spot in the Play-In Tournament, but with the way they’re trending, that gap doesn’t feel insurmountable. They’ve got momentum, they’ve got emerging talent, and they’ve got a coach who’s getting buy-in from top to bottom.
Next up, Charlotte returns home to face the Washington Wizards on Saturday. Another win there, and the buzz around this team is only going to get louder.