After a 122-105 loss to the Miami Heat Sunday night, the Charlotte Hornets were eliminated from playoff contention, in what has become a somber annual tradition in the Carolinas. The Hornets drought is the longest currently in the NBA, and dates back nearly a decade to the 2015-16 Kemba Walker led team that won 48 games and lost to the Heat in the 1st round.
As the season winds down and the offseason begins, first year head coach Charles Lee and 2nd year GM Jeff Peterson have their work cut out for them sorting through the rubble and looking for the positives to take away from this season. Despite the losses, this team was a preseason dark horse to make the playoffs this year and could be again, with the help of a little luck and the continued development of young stars LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller.
The optimism for this team isn't hard to understand, led by Ball and Miller the roster isn't a bad one when healthy…but reading that phrase after what fans have endured this season likely feels like the sting of an actual hornet. After Mark Williams missed the first several weeks of the season with a tendon issue in his foot, they lost Grant Williams to an ACL in December, then Miller (wrist) and Tre Mann (back) for the season in January, adding to an issue that has plagued this team for years. They announced a new health and performance staff last August, and while the results weren't there this season, you'd think at some point that luck (and not ligaments) would break in their favor.
Health alone would go a long way towards making this roster formidable, but a few upgrades wouldn't hurt either. They tried and failed to trade Mark Williams to the Lakers at the deadline, so you'd think a trade with him involved is certainly a path they could take, and potentially bringing in a veteran free agent like Brandon Ingram, Andre Drummond, Myles Turner or Khris Middleton could be another. But no trade or free agent signing is going to turn this franchise around like some good old fashionedluck.
Like the rest of the bottom third of the league the Hornets have their focus on the draft lottery and Duke superstar Cooper Flagg. To the credit of the coaching staff and players, the Hornets are still playing hard and as evidenced by last night's close loss to the current 8th seed Orlando Magic, the Hornets are ‘ethically tanking', a fan phrase I love.
The Hornets currently have a 14% chance at landing the #1 pick, and it's easy to dream on Flagg coming to Charlotte and forming a young trio with Ball and Miller to rival the glory days of Larry Johnson, Alonzo Mourning and Kendall Gill. But even if they miss on Flagg, just getting a top 3 pick would be huge. They've picked in the top 3 twice in the last 5 years and the selections of Ball and Miller suggest this franchise could do a lot with another chance.
Where the Carolina Panthers should go with No. 8 pick in 2025 NFL Draft
The Hornets have more reasons for optimism than you'd think at 18-54, but they could really use a little luck.
Related: Charlotte Hornets revolutionize training with new Novant Health Performance Center
Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This story was originally published March 26, 2025 at 1:08 PM.