The Hornets finished the 2024/25 campaign with the third-worst record in the NBA (19-63) and missed the playoffs for the ninth consecutive year, which is the longest active drought in the league. Charlotte moved down one spot in the 2025 draft lottery, landing the fourth overall pick.
While Kon Knueppel was viewed as a contender to be selected at that spot, it wasn't considered a lock, with Ace Bailey and Tre Johnson among the other candidates. But the Hornets were absolutely right in believing in the 20-year-old wing, who exceeded all expectations in his debut season, nearly outdueling his former teammate and close friend Cooper Flagg for Rookie of the Year after averaging 18.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 81 regular season games (31.5 minutes per contest). Knueppel posted an excellent .475/.425/.863 shooting line, became the first rookie in history to lead the league in three-pointers made (273), and helped Charlotte improve from 19 to 44 wins.
The addition of Knueppel was in retrospect the most noteworthy of the Hornets' 2025 offseason moves, but it certainly wasn't the only transaction. The team also added three other draft picks: one late first-rounder (Liam McNeeley, who went 29th overall), which was acquired in the Mark Williams trade with Phoenix, and two early second-rounders (Sion James and Ryan Kalkbrenner, Nos. 33 and 34, respectively), both of whom played rotation minutes as rookies.
Trading veteran center Jusuf Nurkic to Utah for Collin Sexton and a second-round pick was another one of head of basketball operations Jeff Peterson's moves last summer, though the 27-year-old guard's stay in Charlotte was brief. Sexton was traded to Chicago in February -- in one of the team's five deadline moves -- for Coby White, another impending free agent guard.
The start of 2025/26 looked like more of the same in Charlotte, as the team was just 11-23 following a one-point loss at Milwaukee on January 2. But the Hornets played like an entirely different team the rest of the season, blowing out the top-seeded Thunder in Oklahoma City a few days into the new year and beating several playoff teams later that month en route to a nine-game winning streak. The Hornets closed '25/26 with a 33-15 mark to finish 44-38, the No. 9 seed in the East.
While the team survived a wild overtime game vs. Miami to eliminate the Heat in the 9/10 matchup, the Hornets were embarrassed in Orlando with a chance to advance as the eighth seed, losing by 31 points and ending their surprising season on a sour note. The aforementioned nine-year playoff drought is now up to 10.
Creating a health plan for LaMelo Ball, who made 72 regular season appearances after averaging just 35 games per year in the three seasons leading up to 2025/26, was a key part of Charlotte's success. The 24-year-old point guard is a polarizing player for both on- and off-court reasons, but there's no question the Hornets have been a better team -- especially on offense -- when he's in the lineup.
Improved health from former No. 2 overall pick Brandon Miller was another key factor in Charlotte's 25-win improvement. After being limited to just 27 games in his second season due to wrist surgery, he made 65 appearances (30.3 minutes per game) in 2025/26, averaging 20.2 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 3.3 APG and 1.0 SPG on .435/.383/.892 shooting splits. The 6'7" wing notably improved his efficiency while playing more solid defense than he had in his first two seasons, despite dealing with a partially dislocated left shoulder he played through for several months.
Another key piece to the puzzle for the Hornets in 2025/26 was Moussa Diabate, an undersized French center with a relentless motor. The team had the equivalent of the top-ranked offense and the fourth-ranked defense when the 24-year-old big man was on the court this past season, which is pretty remarkable considering the Hustle Award winner had played a fairly modest role prior to 2025/26.
Peterson and the rest of Charlotte's front office have done a nice job utilizing the team's financial flexibility to add draft assets over the past two years. Now the Hornets need to decide whether their second-half run will lead to sustainable long-term success or whether the team needs outside help to go from a pretty good team -- they had the eighth-best net rating in the NBA -- to a club that's capable of making real noise in the playoffs.
The Hornets' Offseason Plans
The Hornets are one of six NBA teams with two first-round picks in the 2026 NBA draft. The team controls the final lottery pick (No. 14 overall) and has another selection a few spots later (No. 18). Their primary free agent is White, who has a $25MM cap hold, and they have one main extension candidate in Miller.
On the surface, Charlotte's offseason seems like it could be pretty straightforward: re-sign White, draft a couple of young players to add to their core, extend Miller if the deal is reasonable, and continue to build on the strong results of the latter portion of 2025/26. However, the Hornets also have financial flexibility, a significant cache of draft assets, and the right types of contracts (three mid-sized expiring deals) to be much more aggressive than that if they want to be.
