2025–26 Charlotte Hornets season
2025–26 NBA season by team
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The 2025–26 Charlotte Hornets season was the 36th season for the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
General managerJeff Peterson
| 2025–26 Charlotte Hornets season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Charles Lee |
| President | Fred Whitfield |
| General manager | Jeff Peterson |
| Owner(s) | Gabe Plotkin Rick Schnall |
| Arena | Spectrum Center |
| Results | |
| Record | 44–38 (.537) |
| Place | Division: 3rd (Southeast) Conference: 9th (Eastern) |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Stats at Basketball Reference | |
| Local media | |
| Television | Bally Sports South · Bally Sports Southeast Cox Media Group/Gray Media[a] (12 simulcasts) |
| Radio | WFNZ |
Despite starting the season 4–14 record through late November 2025, the Hornets made a mid-season turnaround.[1] Between January and February 2026, the team recorded a nine-game winning streak, their longest in their current incarnation.[2][3] During the winning streak, on January 28, 2026, the Hornets improved on their 19–63 record from their previous season with a win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Hornets also clinched their first winning season since 2021–22 with a win over the Indiana Pacers on April 3. On April 10, they clinched a play-in spot for the first time since 2022. They finished the regular season with a 44–38 record, placing ninth in the East. During the first stage of the tournament, they eliminated the Miami Heat in overtime. However, they suffered a catastrophic defeat to the Orlando Magic in the second game, which eliminated the Hornets from playoff contention for the 10th consecutive season, having not made the playoffs since 2016.
Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position(s) | Nationality | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Kon Knueppel | Small Forward |  United States |
Duke |
| 2 | 33 | Sion James | Small Forward | United States |
Duke |
| 2 | 34 | Ryan Kalkbrenner | Center | United States |
Creighton |
The Hornets entered the draft with one first-round pick and two second-round picks, one of which originally belonged to the New Orleans Pelicans.[4][5]
Roster
| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
Roster |
Standings
Division
| Southeast Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y – Atlanta Hawks | 46 | 36 | .561 | – | 24–17 | 22–19 | 9–7 | 82 |
| x – Orlando Magic | 45 | 37 | .549 | 1.0 | 26–16 | 19–21 | 9–8 | 82 |
| pi – Charlotte Hornets | 44 | 38 | .537 | 2.0 | 21–20 | 23–18 | 11–5 | 82 |
| pi – Miami Heat | 43 | 39 | .524 | 3.0 | 26–15 | 17–24 | 10–7 | 82 |
| Washington Wizards | 17 | 65 | .207 | 29.0 | 11–30 | 6–35 | 2–14 | 82 |
Conference
| Eastern Conference | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
| 1 | c – Detroit Pistons * | 60 | 22 | .732 | – | 82 |
| 2 | y – Boston Celtics * | 56 | 26 | .683 | 4.0 | 82 |
| 3 | x – New York Knicks | 53 | 29 | .646 | 7.0 | 82 |
| 4 | x – Cleveland Cavaliers | 52 | 30 | .634 | 8.0 | 82 |
| 5 | x – Toronto Raptors | 46 | 36 | .561 | 14.0 | 82 |
| 6 | y – Atlanta Hawks * | 46 | 36 | .561 | 14.0 | 82 |
| 7 | x – Philadelphia 76ers | 45 | 37 | .549 | 15.0 | 82 |
| 8 | x – Orlando Magic | 45 | 37 | .549 | 15.0 | 82 |
| 9 | pi – Charlotte Hornets | 44 | 38 | .537 | 16.0 | 82 |
| 10 | pi – Miami Heat | 43 | 39 | .524 | 17.0 | 82 |
| 11 | Milwaukee Bucks | 32 | 50 | .390 | 28.0 | 82 |
| 12 | Chicago Bulls | 31 | 51 | .378 | 29.0 | 82 |
| 13 | Brooklyn Nets | 20 | 62 | .244 | 40.0 | 82 |
| 14 | Indiana Pacers | 19 | 63 | .232 | 41.0 | 82 |
| 15 | Washington Wizards | 17 | 65 | .207 | 43.0 | 82 |
Game log
Preseason
Due to renovations at Spectrum Center, the Hornets did not play home preseason games at the arena.[6]
| 2025 preseason game log Total: 2–3 (Home: 1–1; Road: 1–2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Preseason: 2–3 (home: 1–1; road: 1–2)
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| 2025–26 preseason schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Regular season
| 2025–26 game log Total: 44–38 (Home: 21–20; Road: 23–18) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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October: 2–3 (home: 1–1; road: 1–2)
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November: 4–11 (home: 4–5; road: 0–6)
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December: 5–8 (home: 2–4; road: 3–4)
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January: 11–6 (home: 3–3; road: 8–3)
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February: 8–3 (home: 3–3; road: 5–0)
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March: 10–5 (home: 6–3; road: 4–2)
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April: 4–2 (home: 2–1; road: 2–1)
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| 2025–26 season schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Play-in
| 2026 play-in game log Total: 1–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Play-in: 1–1 (home: 1–0; road: 0–1)
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| 2025–26 season schedule | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NBA Cup
East Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York Knicks | 4 | 3 | 1 | 512 | 477 | +35 | Advanced to knockout rounds |
| 2 | Miami Heat | 4 | 3 | 1 | 507 | 458 | +49 | |
| 3 | Milwaukee Bucks | 4 | 2 | 2 | 467 | 463 | +4 | |
| 4 | Charlotte Hornets | 4 | 1 | 3 | 461 | 500 | −39 | |
| 5 | Chicago Bulls | 4 | 1 | 3 | 468 | 517 | −49 |
Source: NBA
Player statistics
Regular season
| Player | POS | GP | GS | MP | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | MPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sion James | SG | 82 | 19 | 1,843 | 287 | 163 | 52 | 20 | 441 | 22.5 | 3.5 | 2.0 | .6 | .2 | 5.4 |
| Kon Knueppel | SF | 81 | 80 | 2,551 | 432 | 274 | 57 | 19 | 1,498 | 31.5 | 5.3 | 3.4 | .7 | .2 | 18.5 |
| Miles Bridges | PF | 77 | 77 | 2,387 | 450 | 246 | 46 | 34 | 1,314 | 31.0 | 5.8 | 3.2 | .6 | .4 | 17.1 |
| Moussa Diabaté | C | 73 | 47 | 1,899 | 635 | 141 | 56 | 72 | 575 | 26.0 | 8.7 | 1.9 | .8 | 1.0 | 7.9 |
| LaMelo Ball | PG | 72 | 69 | 2,017 | 347 | 514 | 87 | 17 | 1,445 | 28.0 | 4.8 | 7.1 | 1.2 | .3 | 20.1 |
| Ryan Kalkbrenner | C | 69 | 31 | 1,479 | 377 | 54 | 32 | 101 | 521 | 21.4 | 5.5 | .8 | .5 | 1.5 | 7.6 |
| Brandon Miller | SF | 65 | 65 | 1,968 | 319 | 217 | 66 | 44 | 1,311 | 30.3 | 4.9 | 3.3 | 1.0 | .7 | 20.2 |
| Josh Green | SG | 58 | 0 | 908 | 102 | 47 | 35 | 6 | 249 | 15.7 | 1.8 | .8 | .6 | .1 | 4.3 |
| Tre Mann | PG | 53 | 1 | 668 | 92 | 86 | 25 | 5 | 291 | 12.6 | 1.7 | 1.6 | .5 | .1 | 5.5 |
| Pat Connaughton | SG | 42 | 0 | 297 | 61 | 18 | 11 | 1 | 110 | 7.1 | 1.5 | .4 | .3 | .0 | 2.6 |
| Collin Sexton† | SG | 42 | 12 | 938 | 80 | 157 | 36 | 7 | 596 | 22.3 | 1.9 | 3.7 | .9 | .2 | 14.2 |
| Tidjane Salaün | PF | 37 | 0 | 575 | 149 | 27 | 16 | 7 | 222 | 15.5 | 4.0 | .7 | .4 | .2 | 6.0 |
| Grant Williams | PF | 36 | 3 | 711 | 142 | 56 | 17 | 18 | 252 | 19.8 | 3.9 | 1.6 | .5 | .5 | 7.0 |
| Liam McNeeley | SF | 31 | 0 | 368 | 73 | 24 | 5 | 3 | 132 | 11.9 | 2.4 | .8 | .2 | .1 | 4.3 |
| Coby White† | SG | 21 | 0 | 406 | 62 | 64 | 5 | 3 | 328 | 19.3 | 3.0 | 3.0 | .2 | .1 | 15.6 |
| Xavier Tillman Sr.† | C | 16 | 0 | 72 | 18 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 4.5 | 1.1 | .5 | .2 | .2 | .8 |
| Mason Plumlee† | C | 14 | 2 | 125 | 40 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 26 | 8.9 | 2.9 | 1.1 | .4 | .0 | 1.9 |
| KJ Simpson† | PG | 14 | 2 | 223 | 29 | 35 | 15 | 0 | 84 | 15.9 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 1.1 | .0 | 6.0 |
| PJ Hall† | C | 12 | 2 | 187 | 66 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 73 | 15.6 | 5.5 | .7 | .3 | .7 | 6.1 |
| Antonio Reeves | SG | 10 | 0 | 68 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 6.8 | .8 | .3 | .1 | .0 | 2.7 |
| Drew Peterson | PF | 6 | 0 | 64 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 10.7 | 1.5 | .3 | .5 | .2 | .8 |
- † Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Hornets only.
Transactions
Trades
| June 29, 2025[7] | To Charlotte Hornets • Collin Sexton• 2030 second-round pick |
To Utah Jazz •  Jusuf Nurkić |
| June 30, 2025[8] | To Charlotte Hornets •  Vasilije Micić• Draft rights to Liam McNeeley (No. 29)• 2029 first-round pick |
To Phoenix Suns • Mark Williams• 2029 PHX second-round pick |
| July 6, 2025[9] | To Charlotte Hornets • Pat Connaughton |
To Milwaukee Bucks • Vasilije Micić• 2031 second-round pick • 2032 second-round pick |
| February 4, 2026[10][11] | To Charlotte Hornets •  Ousmane Dieng• 2029 second-round pick (the more favorable of the picks originally belonging to Atlanta and Miami) |
To Oklahoma City Thunder • Mason Plumlee |
| February 4, 2026[12][13] | To Charlotte Hornets • Coby White• Mike Conley Jr. |
To Chicago Bulls • |
| February 4, 2026[14][15] | To Charlotte Hornets Tyus Jones |
To Orlando Magic Cash considerations |
Free agency
Re-signed
Additions
| Date | Player | Former Team | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 13, 2025 | Spencer Dinwiddie |
Dallas Mavericks | [17] |
Subtractions
| Date | Player | Reason | New Team | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 1, 2025 | Seth Curry |
Free agency | Golden State Warriors | [18] |