New Charlotte Hornets guard Coby White, acquired via trade from the Chicago Bulls, talks about coming back to his native North Carolina. By Rod Boone| Charlotte Observers
Even before the premise and question were completely uttered, a wry smile appeared on the face of the newest member of the Charlotte Hornets.
“I think what’s crazy is when we played Charlotte, when I was playing against them earlier this year, I think I averaged my career high against the team,” Coby White told The Charlotte Observer on Thursday. “I probably averaged my career high in that building, in the Spectrum Center. So it’s different.
“Every time I come back to Charlotte to play, I would just tell people it just felt different. I just felt the love every time I was in the building just being there, it was just weird. Like you said, something triggers every time I was in there. So I’m excited I get to play there more.”
Those words and White’s arrival signal where things are with the Hornets.
An afterthought and the butt of many jokes for the better part of the past decade during the NBA’s longest current playoff drought, there’s finally optimism around the Hornets. Gloomy days have been replaced by brighter times, the latest coming in Thursday night’s 109-99 win over the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center.
The Hornets are partying like it’s 1999.
That’s the last time Charlotte rattled off eight victories in a row, which is the streak they’re now on after dismantling Kevin Durant and the Rockets. That strike-shortened 1998-99 campaign under the tutelage of Dave Cowens and Paul Silas feels like eons ago.
But this batch of Hornets (24-28) are riding the victory wave and soaking it in.
LaMelo Ball of the Charlotte Hornets dribbles. Jared C. Tilton Getty Images
“I feel good, just winning, winning period,” LaMelo Ball told The Observer. “I love winning, so whenever we win, it’s just a great feeling.”
But as evidenced by the franchise lacking a streak this long for the better part of the past two-plus decades, this isn’t something to take lightly. The Hornets are in the midst of an image shift and no one knows that better than the longest-tenured member of the team.
“Culture’s changing,” Miles Bridges said. “We’re trying to get it going. We’re just tired of losing, so we just want to get to the playoffs, and we take it one game at a time. And that’s what we’ve been doing.
“I haven’t felt this way since 2022 when we made the play-in, and even then we haven’t won to this extent. So I’m happy to be a part of this, and I’m proud of everybody growing up in front of my eyes. Brandon (Miller), Kon (Knueppel), the rookies, Moussa (Diabate) — we’ve all been playing great, So, I just want to keep it going.”
Adding White to a young crop bursting in talent thanks to the likes of Ball, Miller and Knueppel only bolsters the Hornets’ chances to end the playoff drought. Jeff Peterson, the Hornets’ president of basketball operations, said he fielded calls from executives around the league on every member of the team’s core.
But Peterson didn’t bite on anything, essentially wanting to play it out with the current cast of characters he’s assembled.
“I think everyone can see now when we have health, it’s so important,” coach Charles Lee said. “Our guys have been healthy for the most part. It’s a credit to the players and the coaching staff — they’ve bought in. It’s really, really exciting to see what this group can be. I’m a big believer in continuity and chemistry.
“So yeah, it’s fun. I don’t ever want to put a limit on what this group can do, but it’s been very exciting to see how they’ve responded.”
LaMelo Ball dribbles against Josh Okogie. Photo courtesy Charlotte Hornets
Peterson’s faith in the core group didn’t go unnoticed. It’s definitely appreciated.
“It just gives you the confidence to go out and play your game and play as hard as you can,” Bridges said. “When our GM gives us that type of praise, that means that the organization is behind you. We continue that confidence.”
Which, in Ball’s estimation, never really wavered much. Having him available more certainly has helped, and that’s the case for the Hornets as a whole.
After being among the NBA leaders in games missed due to injury over the past couple of seasons, the trend is slowly reversing, and it couldn’t come at a better time. Charlotte’s run has lifted the Hornets to 10th in the Eastern Conference standings, which is good enough to nab the final play-in tournament spot, and they’re only a game behind the Atlanta Hawks — the team they meet twice in the next six days, including Saturday’s outing at State Farm Arena — for ninth.
“All of our core players, we knew who we was,” Ball said. “We all knew we could hoop and everything like that, and we know we just feed off each other. So we knew we had. It’s just being on that floor, and being healthy and just competing for real.”
Here’s what makes the Hornets dangerous: They have multiple players who can light it up and post 20 points on a given night. It’s a far cry from the previous two seasons, when the bulk of that offensive responsibility was mostly cast on the shoulders of Ball and Bridges.
Miles Bridges of the Charlotte Hornets looks on. David Jensen Getty Images
“We’ve got this thing called trust the pass,” Bridges said. “That goes for myself and everybody. Like you said, me and Melo, we’ve always been the ones that have to score the ball and when Melo was injured it was me and Brandon who had to score the ball.
“Melo can get 20, 30, Kon 20, 30 — that’s what makes our offense special, because we’ve got so many guys that can put the ball in the hole.
“And Moussa (Diabate) is a monster on the glass.”
Make no mistake, though, the Hornets aren’t a finished product. They still will need a tweak or two in the offseason to address areas of concern, like maybe a burly power forward to come off the bench behind Bridges.
Peterson isn’t the type to keep his phone in his pocket for too long. In his less than two years in charge of Charlotte’s personnel, he’s helped the Hornets stockpile 11 first-round picks and 15 second-round picks in the next seven NBA Drafts.
If there’s a move to be made to keep pushing the Hornets into a different stratosphere, it’s a safe bet Peterson will get it done.
“Yeah, we’ll know when the time is right,” Peterson said. “Again, there’s a lot of nuances that go into it — which players are available, contract length. There’s different dynamics that go into all of that. But I promise you, we will know when the time is right. Again, this recent stretch, it has been beautiful to watch.
“It’s been really, really fun to see. All of this has just continued to add to the sample size that we need. And of course we can’t make any moves now, but in the summer we’ll figure out exactly what this team is and what else we need to do to continue to take the next step.”