Coby White’s place in the NBA conversation got a nice boost heading into the 2026-27 season.
The Charlotte Hornets guard was slotted at No. 92 in Bleacher Report’s NBA Staff rankings, putting him inside the top 100 players in the league. For a team trying to reset after a busy summer, that kind of recognition matters.
Charlotte is heading into the new season with a very different look. The Hornets reached the Play-In tournament in the Eastern Conference a year ago, but still came up short of a playoff berth. It has now been more than a decade since the franchise last made the postseason, and this group believes it may finally be ready to change that.
A major reason for the shakeup was the trade of star guard LaMelo Ball. That move opened the door for a youth movement and left White with a much bigger role than the one he had when he arrived last year at the trade deadline.
White made the most of that short stint in Charlotte. In 21 games with the Hornets, he averaged 15.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game while shooting 39.1 percent from 3-point range. He then chose to stay with the team this offseason, signing a three-year deal.
Now he’s set to open the year as the starter, and the Hornets are banking on him to hold things together at point guard. If White can push his game forward - especially as a passer - Charlotte’s ceiling changes.
The scoring is already there. The question is whether he can take on the full orchestration job and make the offense hum in a way he hasn’t had to before.
That’s the real test. White is being asked to replace Ball and show that the Hornets were right to make the move they made. There’s clearly belief inside the organization, but once the season begins, the pressure will be on him to back it up.
In Other News...
Charles Lee Called Out What Still Holding Back The Hornets
After a loss to Boston, Charles Lee pointed to the Hornets effort as one of the bigger issues still hanging over the team, especially the way turnovers and uneven stretches keep disrupting any chance at building rhythm. The first-year coach framed it as more than a one-night problem, stressing that Charlotte needs a more consistent standard from opening tip to final buzzer if it wants to start forming the kind of habits that show up in winning basketball.
Lee also singled out one player for bringing a two-way mentality that the staff values, noting the impact on both ends of the floor even as the bigger picture remains unsettled. For Charlotte, the challenge is no longer just competing in flashes, but stacking those flashes together long enough to turn them into something repeatable. [Read more 🡒]
Christian Anderson Jr. Showed Hornets Fans Exactly Why He Matters
Christian Anderson Jr. finally got on the floor for the Hornets in preseason action after sitting out the first two games with an ankle injury, and he wasted little time reminding Charlotte why the organization valued him enough to make him the 18th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. In his debut against the Boston Celtics, he scored 10 points, knocked down two 3-pointers and added two steals, a tidy showing that fit the two-way reputation he built in a standout college run at Texas Tech.
The Hornets were already thin in the backcourt with two other guards out, so Andersons return came with a little extra weight attached. He had said he wanted to help on both offense and defense, and even in a preseason loss, the early evidence pointed in that direction. For a team trying to sort out its guard rotation, his ability to provide scoring, pressure and activity on the other end is the kind of detail worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]
Charles Lee Is Already Pushing Sion James In One Crucial Area
Sion James wasted no time making an impression in his first preseason action for Charlotte, coming off the bench in the Hornets 105-90 win over Milwaukee and showing the kind of quick-trigger confidence coach Charles Lee has been looking for. James finished with 11 points and four assists, and Lee pointed to his decision-making as a bright spot in a game where the Hornets moved the ball well and assisted on 29 of 39 baskets.
Lees next step for the rookie is more specific: getting him more comfortable running the offense when the play is called for him. Charlotte liked the overall connectivity it showed against the Bucks, but James role will hinge on whether he can keep that confidence while sharpening his command of the group in organized sets, especially as the preseason moves forward and the details get less forgiving. [Read more 🡒]