Charles Lee reveals why ‘care factor’ is key for Hornets’ playoff push

The Charlotte Hornets may not be all the way there, but they have arrived as a winning team in the Eastern Conference. Since the start of the 2026 calendar year, the Hornets have posted the fifth-best record in the NBA at 27-12. Their strong run this year continued on Tuesday, as they made quick work of the tanking Sacramento Kings and demolished them to the tune of a 134-90 victory.

The jump from bad to good is not as easy as the Hornets are making it look. But under the tutelage of head coach Charles Lee, that’s exactly what they’ve been doing. They have built up winning habits and they don’t let their foot off the gas pedal ever — which explains their historic average margin of victory this season.

After the game, Lee explained what makes the Hornets so good and why they’ve been so dominant every time they’re in victory lane.

“Every game is meaningful, every possession is meaningful,” Lee said, via HornetsReddit on X. “To watch that group at the end of the game compete and communicate the way they did… it just shows, from up and down the roster, the commitment level, the ‘care factor’ by everybody is really high.”

Charles Lee: "Every game is meaningful, every possession is meaningful."

"To watch that group at the end of the game compete and communicate the way they did… it just shows, from up and down the roster, the commitment level, the 'care factor' by everybody is really high." pic.twitter.com/Dy8yijDNQE

— r/CharlotteHornets (@HornetsReddit) March 25, 2026

The Hornets take delight in embarrassing other teams, and this killer mindset of theirs bodes well for their chances of taking the leap from good to great in the coming years.

The entire Hornets roster has bought in

The Hornets have been one of the best teams in the NBA over the past few months, and this is no fluke. Lee has the team playing for each other every single game, and the team has been humming as a result.

Charlotte has one of the best starting fives in the association (LaMelo Ball, Kon Knueppel, Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges, and Moussa Diabate), and their bench mob consisting of Ryan Kalkbrenner, Coby White, Sion James, Josh Green, and Grant Williams have been playing their roles to a T.

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