How the Hornets became the NBA’s hottest team

The Charlotte Hornets are playing better than any team in the NBA right now. Seriously. This isn’t a hunch, or based on the eye-test, but objectively the Hornets have been brilliant. They weren’t just dominant in January, they were historic. Going 11-6, and currently on a six game win streak — coach Charles Lee has the team cooking in a way they haven’t … well, ever.

It’s not just that the Hornets are winning, but how they’re winning. This team is dominating on both sides of the floor. After beating the Mavericks in overtime on Saturday night Charlotte matched the all-time record for road differential in a single month, finishing at +151 — which is tied with the 2010-11 Heat, a team that featured LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh.

Kon Knueppel may or may not win Rookie of the Year, because Cooper Flagg is playing brilliant basketball — but no rookie has been more important to their team than Knueppel. Emerging as far more than a connective piece, Knueppel has become the Hornets’ primary three point shooter on a team already loaded with talent from behind the arc. The rookie is shooting 42.7% from deep, lifting his eFG% to 60.9% this season. Not only is Knueppel knocking down everything, but he’s doing it as a volume shooter who is averaging 7.7 threes attempted per game.

This was on full display Saturday night, when Knueppel went 8-12 from beyond the arc in an explosive performance.

The highest-end player comparison for Knueppel out of the draft was Klay Thompson. Now it appears there’s a very real chance he could exceed that assessment. Knueppel has become a three-level scorer who is both capable of knocking down threes as a spot-up shooter, but also creating his own shot — something people didn’t think was in his bag entering the draft. He’s also an underrated defender, who is able to mitigate his lack of on-ball ability with spacing and awareness, often taking his man out of the play before they get the ball.

When the Hornets drafted Kon the question was less whether or not he would be a good player, and more how he’d fit alongside Brandon Miller. Both have similar attributes, with Miller being taken with the No. 2 pick in 2023 because of his three point shooting and shot creation — which the Hornets desperately needed to take focus off LaMelo Ball.

There have been bumps in the road during this learning process, but the Hornets have finally found their footing. Utilizing a starting lineup of LaMelo Ball, Kon Knueppel, Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges, and Moussa Diabate has become the team’s secret sauce. Offensively it gives the team three shooters around the perimeter, with Bridges and Diabate both being solid finishers around the rim. Meanwhile on defense it’s a varied mix of the on-ball defenders in Ball and Melo, the off-ball ability of Knueppel, and the rim protection of Bridges and Diabate which has been the different maker.

This shines through in the Hornets’ overall rankings this season, as well as their year-over-year improvement from Basketball Reference.

• 3rd in thee-point field goals (+17.5%)
• 16th in free throws (+19.3%)
• 7th in rebounding (+1.2%)
• 11th in assists (+10.3%)
• 14th in points scored (+10.6%)
• 12th in point allowed (+0.3%)

The offensive numbers are what’s eye popping here, as the team has become better able to play with unity and purpose. The Hornets of the past existed as a monolith: Either LaMelo Ball was shooting the ball, or making an assist — with little in between. It made for eye-popping individual numbers, and a whole lot of losses. Now the offense is designed around the second or third pass, stretching the floor in ways that are very difficult to defend with as many shooters as the Hornets boast.

This has been a huge boon to LaMelo Ball, who is attempted five less field goals on average, but is posting more assists along with a career-low in turnovers. As a result we have a core in Charlotte that is dictating the pace, buying in to Charles Lee’s system, and seeing results from it.

The key player we haven’t talked about is Moussa Diabate, who has become the ideal center for this new-look Hornets team. Signed to a two-way contract at the tail end of the 2024 season, Diabate showed enough in a short period of time that Charlotte shopped Mark Williams, eventually trading him to the Suns. The difference between the two centers is dramatic, with Diabate being less of an offensive threat — but far better on the defensive end, and a more aggressive rebounder. It’s not that Diabate is better than Williams, but he’s strictly better for this version of the team, fitting in much better as an ancillary piece, rather than forced focal point.

All that’s left to be answered is how far this team can go? Currently at 22-28 there’s a significant early season hole Charlotte needs to dig out of in order to make the playoffs. However, there is an outside chance if they can keep up their stellar January performance to find a backdoor into the postseason, likely as a play-in team.

The real hype should be for 2026-27. If the Hornets can find a long defender to play the four and give some more defensive backbone next to Diabate then the current scoring trio are good enough to really make noise in a weaker Eastern conference. Factor in that Charlotte is $12M under the tax theshold, giving them the room to bulk out their bench — and we really could be looking at a team a year from now that is threatening to be one of the best teams in the conference.

For now fans will gladly accept this run. The Hornets have put everything together around its young core, and the vibes are off the charts. For a team that normally inspires apathy it’s been the biggest turnaround in the NBA this season, and the sky is the limit.