The Charlotte Hornets trail only the Boston Celtics in an intriguing stat entering the 2026-27 season.
The Charlotte Hornets trail only the Boston Celtics in a fascinating stat entering the 2026-27 season.
Charlotte is second in the league with four players who averaged 2.5+ threes last season on the current 2026-27 roster: Kon Knueppel, Brandon Miller, Grayson Allen and Royce O'Neale.
Boston is first with Jayson Tatum, Paul George, Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser and Derrick White.
In today's NBA, you have to have players who can shoot and make 3s at a high clip to be successful. Knueppel led the league in 3s last season as a rookie and Miller, Allen and O'Neale are terrific deep shooters as well.
Don't forget about Coby White too. He can hit 3s from all over the court and his usage rate will be high next season since he's the Hornets' new starting point guard in the post-LaMelo Ball era.
The Hornets never made the playoffs in the Ball-Miles Bridges era. They haven't made the playoffs since 2016.
It will be intriguing to see if Charlotte can snap its playoff drought in Year 1 of the post-Ball-Bridges era.
Some Charlotte fans weren't pleased with the Ball trade, but Hornets president of basketball operations and general manager Jeff Peterson told Marc J. Spears of Andscape he was comfortable trading Ball because of Miller and Knueppel.
With Ball gone, Miller and Knueppel will see increased usage rates offensively.
"I’m very comfortable," Peterson said. "Charles and I had a conversation with both of them knowing that these trades can be challenging. Sometimes I do think we forget that we’re human beings dealing with this stuff — lives and its emotions. Those guys are friends and they are in the locker room every day. At the same time, Charles and I kind of explained, We believe in you guys, too. You guys are here. We want to continue to see you guys grow. This is going to challenge you guys. You guys got to continue to get better.' We wouldn’t have made that trade if we didn’t feel comfortable with what they can continue to be developing into."
Charlotte opens the 2026-27 season on the road against the Brooklyn Nets.
The home opener is against the Atlanta Hawks.
