A popular NBA analyst has used one strong word to describe the Charlotte Hornets.
A prevalent NBA analyst has used one strong word to describe the Charlotte Hornets.
In a story titled "1 Word to Describe Every NBA Team Right Now," Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report used the word "transformed" to define the Hornets, who have been one of the hottest teams in the league over the past few months.
"The Hornets basically buzzed around the first few months of this season sans stinger," Buckley wrote. "From October to December, it was hard to even register a pulse with this team as it managed an 11-22 record with a bottom-third net rating (minus-3.0, 21st).
"Somewhere between Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, though, Charlotte apparently birthed history's greatest vision board. New Year's resolutions rarely go this well for this long.
"Since the start of 2026, the Hornets are proud owners of the Association's best net rating (plus-10.5) and a wholly competitive, borderline contending-caliber .667 winning percentage.
"Teams embark on surprising hot streaks now and again, but this is something completely different. The Hornets have been flying high for three months now. There's nothing fluky about this; it's a full-scale transformation."
The Hornets will be in the NBA play-in tournament this season. They are looking to make the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
It's only Year 2 of the Charles Lee era, but Charlotte has shifted the narrative.
During an interview with Noa Dalzell of CelticsBlog, Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel opened up about playing for Lee.
"Charles has been great," Knueppel said. "He really preaches daily improvement. So even when you know the losses were stacking up early in the season, it was really just about continuing to get better each day. And I think going into each day with that mindset, living in the present, is really good, especially for our young team."
The Hornets have a talented core of Knueppel, LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabate. It's doubtful to happen, but Charlotte still has goals of not being in the play-in games, per Knueppel.
"We have a chance to get out of the play-in," Knueppel said. "And so that's really the goal at the end of the day – we have a couple of tie-breakers with teams in our division. So it'd be great to get into that."
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